


Peace for Traitors

by scarlet_tigress



Series: Peace [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, M/M, Moresomes, Multi, Threesome - F/M/M, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-06
Updated: 2015-06-05
Packaged: 2017-12-14 02:27:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 26
Words: 336,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/831658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarlet_tigress/pseuds/scarlet_tigress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Naruto's marriage to Sasuke and Sakura has given him both legitimate power in Konoha politics and a real family. Life is happy, peaceful, but dark foes are gathering and their plans threaten everything he has. Machinations within the Hyuuga clan driven by Hiashi's hatred and jealousy have begun and will put at risk not only the lives of Naruto's family, but everyone in Konoha. Hiashi is prepared to make any sacrifice, including his own nephew, to stop the new progressive power threatening his political position.  Sequel to Peace for Monsters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Peace for Traitors  
The Jinchuuriki are rare in that, unlike Hanyou, they exhibit organized and characteristic mating behavior. Most Hanyou are, in fact, sterile and rarely take life mates of either oni or human species. Jinchuuriki are distinctly different, gracefully navigating both the human and oni worlds with relative ease. They are pack building creatures and yet, despite this oddity, Jinchuuriki live among humans relatively peaceably. Both males and females will collect human mates, up to six. However, it should be noted here that some Jinchuuriki may form significantly larger packs purely for political reasons. Most notably, the Jinchuuriki Samea Kala of the hidden village of Wave took 13 female subordinates in order to unite the warring tribes along the northern border of her nation. Despite such aberrations, most Jinchuuriki take 2-4 subordinates and usually only 1 or 2 through political marriages.  
Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons  
Hiashi Hyuuga, clan head of the large and powerful Hyuuga family, resisted the urge to pace. They were late. In fact, they were much later than he would have expected from the highly competent ninja in his most recent intelligence deployment. The team sent to spy on the Uzumaki household had not returned and it was hours past their rendezvous time. While any number of problems might have arisen to delay his people, Hiashi had an uncomfortable feeling that the operation had gone awry. Nothing was ever simple when dealing with oni, especially the Uzumaki oni, even if the demon in question was currently absent from Konoha on a mission. Hiashi could not have asked for a better opportunity to gather much needed information, with Naruto far away and his little pack relatively undefended. However, tiny as the budding Uzumaki house was, it was still probably the most deadly threat to Hiashi's position in all of the hidden village of Leaf. No clan could claim the kind of raw power and bloodline talent that Uzumaki could, having both the power of the Uchiha Sharingan and the considerable strength of the Kyuubi. The orphan brat who was once spat upon in the streets was now a clan head in his own right and a terrible force to be reckoned with. The blond menace had given Hiashi no peace, especially since, despite his foreign blood and crude habits, Naruto had become almost unstoppably popular. The Jinchuuriki's wedding had been attended by practically every person in the village, and the image of Sasuke Uchiha, the unholy terror of the entire civilized world, kneeling contentedly by Naruto's side, was a hard thing for anyone to ignore. Sasuke, the last member of one of the most powerful clans in all history and an unmatched child prodigy, raising his hands to accept the matched bracers representing his acceptance of Naruto's domination…no, not something anyone would easily forget.  
Naruto's ascension to power was almost certain. The Hokage had been publicly giving hints of her support for Naruto to become her successor. His marriage to Sasuke Uchiha gave him the legitimacy he needed to seriously contend for Konoha leadership. With Sakura, the beautiful Haruno surgeon, as his wife, the jinchuuriki had civilian support as well. The affectionate nature of their relationship was known by all and only served to build Naruto even greater support within the community. To think that the foolish oni had married them for love alone! Either the rumor was a lie or else Naruto was incredibly lucky. Every indication supported the latter. The situation was a full and unmitigated disaster, worse even than when Naruto's worthless father, Minato, became Hokage. The sheer serendipity of it made Hiashi sick.  
In the three years since Naruto had subsumed the waning Uchiha standard, the blond had only increased his foundation of support and power. Hiashi had been helpless to stop it. As a clan head, Naruto was allowed a seat on the council and the blond used his influence to block nearly every one of Hiashi's proposals. True, the jinchuuriki interjected on council affairs rarely, but whenever he did, his opinion was weighed heavily. Sasuke, little raven haired monster that he was, had managed to kill off almost all of the council members loyal to Hiashi's conservative point of view. The political climate of Konoha was ripe to accept Naruto's more liberal political perspective, leaving the interests of the entrenched aristocracy a paper tiger in the political arena. Policy in Konoha was changing, becoming more egalitarian, slowly but surely bleeding authority away from the shinobi clan leaders, away from Hiashi and his family.  
As awful as the oni was to contend with as a peer, the blond half-mongrel might well become the next Hokage and that simply could not be allowed. Ever since the rather grandiose failure of the once-immortal Madara Uchiha, Hiashi had been in a state of perpetual tension trying to stop Naruto Uzumaki from ruling the world. Once it would have been a joke, people would have laughed, but nothing about clan Uzumaki was funny anymore. Sure, the ancient Uchiha perversion had managed to critically wound Naruto and Sakura, but both the damn Jinchuuriki and his twice damned commoner mate had survived. Not only that, but Madara's intervention had solidified Sasuke's loyalty to Naruto, prompting the last member of the fallen house to publicly accept Uzumaki as his alpha. Some of the other clans had even begun considering offering their second and third sons as additional subordinates in order to tie themselves to the rising Uzumaki household. In most villages, marriage to a jinchuuriki was a great honor for the otherwise disenfranchised younger sons of powerful clans. In Konoha, fortunately, demons were not so well received. Hiashi was thankful, at least, for that.  
The soft chime signaling the return of his team filtered through the darkened meeting chamber and Hiashi allowed himself a relieved sigh before inviting them in. Three of the four ninja entered, dragging a large wooden crate between them, one limping badly. They bowed low before him. Hiashi looked towards the doorway for the leader, but he was not forthcoming.  
"Where is Kyo?" Hiashi demanded.  
The ninja closest to his right pulled a letter from his belt. It was written on fine parchment, tied and sealed with the Uzumaki whirl crest. He wordlessly handed it to the Hyuuga leader, bowing low in shame. Hiashi immediately felt his belly grow cold and heavy as he opened the letter, knowing before he read a single word that he would not like the answer.  
You thought to take advantage of my alpha's absence, something I consider an unforgiveable insult. However, in deference to Naruto and his soft hearted preferences, I have allowed your men to return to you. If, in your arrogance, you have come to believe that we are vulnerable without him, you have been gravely misled. Naruto is confident to leave the clan in my care and I caution you not to test the limits of my mercy again. If I happen to discover more of your people within the borders of our land, there will be more boxes and they will be smaller.  
S. Uzumaki  
Trying to bite back the rampant rage flooding his soul, Hiashi turned to the box. He lifted the lid and took a steadying breath in order not to gag. Within the wooden container lay Kyo…or what was left of the team leader. Sasuke had cut him apart, joint by joint, in the traditional way a clan head would choose to interrogate a prisoner of war. Hiashi hoped desperately that Kyo had managed to stop his heart early in the process, hoped that he had not endured too long…  
"Damn him!" The Hyuuga leader growled.  
"He knew as soon as we crossed the western rim of the forest. He met us in the valley and…The wards have been moved." One of the ninja, Haru, reported tonelessly.  
"What of Kyo? How did Sasuke see past the veil? Why didn't you fall back as instructed?" Hiashi barked. The ninja kneeling before him flinched.  
"He has learned to make Kage Bunshin with the same skill as his alpha." Haru reported.  
"What!"  
"We had him in our observation and he gave no indication of detecting our position. In fact, Sasuke appeared to be gathering wild mushrooms. We were under the impression that we had stumbled upon him, not that he had detected our approach. There was no way we could tell that it was a clone. Not even with Byakugan. His mastery of the technique is perfect."  
"No one seemed to think that it was a little bit odd for Sasuke Uchiha, a notorious murderer, to be doing something like gathering mushrooms?" Hiashi asked, raising his eyebrow.  
"Suki did." The other remaining male ninja said softly.  
Haru scowled at the man through his mask, but the other ninja said nothing more, keeping his face pressed tightly to the floor. Hiashi made note of the tension between them, obviously there had been disagreement over this. If Kyo had had any sense, he would have listened to Suki. The lone female ninja with the team was not one of Hiashi's most trusted operatives solely for her looks.  
"We have observed Sasuke and the female, Sakura, gathering mushrooms and berries in the past. Kyo did not believe there was anything unusual about it." Haru said tightly.  
"Usually, Sasuke watches over Sakura while she collects the food, never actually participating." Suki said coldly.  
"Well? That still does not explain how he found you!" Hiashi snarled.  
"While we watched the clone, Sasuke was above us, in the trees. He was scanning for us with the sharingan."  
"He can't keep the sharingan active for more than a few minutes, it requires too much chakra. If he exceeds his limits, the sharingan will permanently destroy his optic nerves. Sasuke would never risk blindness on a hunch. The veil should have held for more than enough time." Hiashi said.  
"No. I mean, that description of his abilities is no longer accurate. Sasuke can use the sharingan indefinitely, he never suffers from use of the technique. He was using the technique the entire time, even as he…it was never inactive."  
"Impossible!"  
"I believe the chakra he shares with his demon lover may allow him an inexhaustible reservoir of chakra for the technique." Suki said softly.  
"Damn him! Damn them both! So he was watching from the trees with the sharingan as soon as the new wards were tripped and distracting you with a shadow clone? Simultaneously?"  
"Yes."  
"That is impossible! No one has that much chakra!"  
"He does. When he finally attacked us, he didn't even appear fatigued. We were easily defeated."  
"Damn him! He is too suspicious! Naruto never would have moved those wards in the first place without Sasuke's urging. He is as bad as the damn Oni! Worse!" Hiashi railed.  
"Yes. He is." Haru agreed quietly.  
"Something has changed. Even Sasuke would not have become so much more vigilant on a whim, it makes no sense…" Hiashi mused aloud. The remaining ninja exchanged a look.  
"We believe…well, we are not sure…" The ninja who had spoken before sighed, looking nervous.  
"What?"  
"The way Sasuke spoke about certain things was somewhat unusual. His behavior seemed to suggest…it is only a theory." Haru shrugged.  
"Well, theory or not I would hear it!" Hiashi snapped.  
The single female nin on the team stood, the others shooting her mildly disapproving glances. Hiashi ignored them. If the theory was Suki's, no matter how ridiculous, he was more than eager to hear it. Suki was not only a capable ninja, but an expert in battlefield psychology. Her assessments of people were almost always both accurate and pertinent to the situation at hand. Ignoring Suki was a mistake, a mistake that Hiashi was not willing to risk.  
"The female," Suki said, "She is pregnant."  
OoOoOoO  
Sakura bent over the toilet again, her rebellious stomach still roiling. Sasuke had been gone for a very long time and Sakura had her suspicions that his little mushroom hunting expedition was only a cover for something else. She hoped fervently that whatever he was doing was not something dangerous or potentially inflammatory. Sasuke had been worried about spies lately, but he had never actually gotten real proof that anyone had been trying to watch them. Sakura did not much care one way or another. If the other villagers were curious, well, it was only human nature. Still, Sasuke insisted that one of the other houses was gathering intelligence for some kind of attack and while she thought he was completely paranoid, the girl was not willing to take the chance that Sasuke was wrong either. By Kami she missed Naruto! Naruto would have been able to secure the compound and put Sasuke's worries to rest without igniting the once-Uchiha's volatile temper.  
The Jinchuuriki had been gone for nearly three weeks, but it seemed much longer. Naruto was highly in demand for running missions lately because of his powerful attacks and cheerful, temperate personality. The blond was the ideal ninja for peacetime operations since he was unlikely to become unnecessarily violent, but was easily able to handle a situation if the operation went awry. The girl had discovered, with certainty, that she was pregnant just before Naruto left for Wind country, but she had known there was a possibility for almost two months. She had not told him. Such a distraction was an excellent way to get someone killed while they were in the field and Sakura had no intention of doing anything that would put Naruto at risk. She had not planned to conceive; it had sort of been an accident. The child was the product of many long, cold nights away from home and the tendency for a person's memory to slip when having rather desperate sex with her spouses.  
She had slipped up many weeks ago and, at the time, had only been peripherally worried about getting pregnant. It had happened after coming home from her last mission to Sand. Sakura had been away for several weeks working on a medical operation there and had come home eager for intimacy with her husbands. In fact, she had been so eager that any thoughts of contraception had, quite literally, gotten left behind with her pack. Almost three days later, Sakura realized that she had been unprotected and by then, of course, it was too late. Still, she had sort of shrugged the idea off, thinking that she would only worry if she missed her next period. She had.  
Not that the idea of a child was unwelcome, she was excited in the moments when she wasn't throwing up, it was just so…sudden. The suddenness was what really worried her. Sakura had not even bothered with a pregnancy test until she started feeling especially tired and sick in the mornings. Even then, she had kept the secret to herself for several days, not sure how to tell Sasuke. Naruto would have been easier to tell, as she knew he looked forward to having children, but Sasuke was harder. The darksome ninja was a difficult person to talk to under the best of circumstances and something as important and intimate as the conception of the pack's first child was…well… She had waited. When she finally did pull Sasuke aside to tell him about the baby, he had practically sprinted off to snarl at Naruto about moving the wards. Not exactly the response she had expected, not that she was entirely sure what her expectation had been in the first place. While Sakura had no idea what the wards had to do with having a child, she merely shrugged it off. Sasuke's reactions were often hard to understand, but Sakura was a patient woman.  
As always, he showed her his thoughts not with words, but with his actions. The pregnancy was no different. That night when they made love, he had been so gentle, almost reverent. The joy, the fear, the anticipation was evident in the way he held her, kissed her, brushed his lips over her belly. Naruto had left only hours before and both of them ached with his absence. Usually, Sakura would have shared rough, needy sex with Sasuke, sex that both of them only found moderately satisfying. The slow, soft, sweet lovemaking that night had been something far beyond what she had experienced with the raven alone in the past. Love with Sasuke in Naruto's absence was always a little odd. It was a way to cope with the deep, burning hole that the Jinchuuriki left in the bed when he went away, not the true intimate communication the three of them shared. Sakura could only assume that it was the same for Sasuke and Naruto when she was away. Both of them always seemed half mad with desire when she returned, if that was any indication. Still…when Sasuke had touched her that night, it had been heavy with intention, each caress a wealth of meaning. In some ways, Sakura was very glad that she had told him first. In doing so, she had given Sasuke a chance to express himself in the best way he knew how.  
She sighed. Sakura only wished he would express himself during the day as well as he had that night. Unfortunately, not all things could be discussed with merely a touch. Almost since the moment Naruto had left, Sasuke had become far more…well…intense than usual. Maybe if she and Sasuke could just talk about what he was thinking, she might be able to have a life again. The girl missed Ino and her parents, but Sakura's ex-homicidal-maniac husband had made the fact that he HATED when she left the house more than obvious to everyone. Sakura grumbled under her breath and heaved again, coughing miserably.  
Sasuke was always more paranoid when Naruto was away, but Sakura was truly worried about his mental health this time. Sasuke insisted on going to the market with her, saying he was not convinced that she was getting a good price on the duck. The price of duck was, of course, totally irrelevant. Sakura knew he wanted to be there to watch, to threaten, to make sure no one even looked at her improperly. He scowled every time she left the house, accompanying her on even the most trivial errands. When Tsunade offered her a mission, the raven had flatly told the Hokage to go to hell, barely giving Sakura the opportunity to explain. Thankfully, the Hokage expected him to be an ass. Sasuke had even snapped at Ino the last time the other Kunoichi had invited her to go out to a party. The behavior was annoying bordering on infuriating, and Sakura promised herself that she would kick his ass just as soon as she could stand up without feeling nauseous.  
She heard the main door open and the unmasked sound of Sasuke's tread in the hall. Obviously he wanted to be heard. Sakura sighed with relief, trying to work up the strength to stand up so she could badger him into telling her what he had actually been doing for the past six hours. The words, however, died in her throat at the sight of him. With a shaky groan, the girl lowered herself back onto the floor.  
Sasuke was covered in blood, the sticky red stain splashed over his kimono, coating his hands all the way to his upper arms. His arm guards were covered in it, and the fabric of his hakama pants still dripped red gore slowly onto the tile. Sakura turned and retched again.  
"Please…tell me that none of that is yours." Sakura groaned against the porcelain.  
"No. None of it is mine." Sasuke said, moving towards the shower.  
"Sasuke!" Sakura snarled. He sighed.  
"Don't worry. I dealt with it."  
"What the HELL happened!" She shrieked.  
"I finally caught our spies." He said, the corner of his mouth turning up into a savage little smile. \  
"You come home covered up to your FUCKING elbows in blood and that is the only explanation I get?" Sakura railed at him. He turned to her with an irritable sigh.  
"You should work on your cursing before our child is born, you know…"  
"SASUKE!" She shrieked. He pinched the bridge of his nose, obviously annoyed.  
"I felt the wards being tripped and went to intercept the intruders. I had Naruto move the wards just before he left, as I suspected that possible spies might have mapped out our barrier. I changed the dimensions of the wards just enough to confound someone expecting their previous positions. Today, four ninja tripped the alarm. I knew that someone had been out there, in the western woods, once before. The signs were small, but easily indicative of small teams of elite ninja. Today, I found a Hyuuga reconnaissance team skulking through the forest just west of the valley."  
"And…" Sakura urged.  
"I killed their leader and sent his body back with the others as a warning."  
"Sasuke! You just killed a Hyuuga ninja!" Sakura gasped.  
"I was protecting us!" He snapped.  
"But…They are Konoha ninja!" She argued.  
"I don't care what kind of ninja they are! No one invades my home!" He snarled.  
"You just KILLED someone! Wasn't there some other way to handle this?" Sakura growled.  
"I will remind you what happened last time someone invaded our territory! Naruto nearly died!" Sasuke shouted.  
"That…that is true." Sakura acceded, leaning her head against the toilet.  
"Any of the other houses would have done the same thing, or worse! Our enemies are counting on the fact that Naruto will not know traditional clan engagement protocols. We cannot appear weak!" He explained tightly.  
"Sasuke…what does this mean?" Sakura whispered.  
"Nothing…yet. Hiashi Hyuuga is trying to decide whether or not he wants to have a clan war with us. He is threatened by Naruto's growing power and political weight. Hopefully, I persuaded him to reconsider." Sasuke said, stripping off the bloodied clothing.  
"Clan war…? Political weight? What political weight? Naruto only attends the Konoha council one session out of twenty!"  
"You don't understand clan politics. The clans have their own rules of engagement. They all try to maintain equivalent power and authority and Naruto has badly disrupted the balance of the aristocracy. He may not use his influence often, but that does not change the fact that he hasinfluence, Sakura." Sasuke said, sounding frustrated.  
"I just…what do we do?" She asked, feeling close to tears.  
Sasuke paused at her tone, turning to see her wipe surreptitiously at her eyes. Sakura hoped he hadn't seen the tears, but it was so hard not to cry, even when there was nothing at all to cry about and now…war… She drew in a shuddering breath. War because Naruto was powerful? The whole idea did not make any sense. Why? Why war? Why now?  
"Hey…um…I took care of it. Everything is okay." Sasuke said awkwardly, coming to kneel beside her.  
Sakura leaned against him, heedless of the gore still clinging to his skin. Sasuke bent and kissed her hair, nuzzling her softly. The girl was still angry, both at him and at herself for crying, but…well… She had to trust him in this, even if it seemed insane, because Sasuke knew how a clan worked. Even though the tears kept flowing, she tried to show him that she believed him. He had been one of them all along, a royal in the world of ninja. She had been raised in the civilian realm and her parents were just common artisans. The glamorous problems of the clans had always seemed so far away, so insubstantial…  
"Are we…okay? I mean…Are we safe? Will they retaliate?" She whispered. He snorted.  
"They can't retaliate for something that they will never admit to doing in the first place. That ninja I killed today was totally disavowed the moment he accepted the mission, as were the others. As far as a Hyuuga retaliation goes…well…I killed someone who does not actually exist." Sasuke explained, gently stroking her back.  
"It's so…cruel."  
"Yes..." He mused with a shrug, "I suppose it is."  
"You…I mean your family…was it always like this? Sorry, I've gotten so emotional lately!" She laughed shakily, still snuffling quietly. He was silent for a long time.  
"Yes…until I met you and our baka, I had no idea that there was any other way to live…" Sasuke whispered.  
"Are you…glad?" She asked. He smiled into her hair.  
"I actually did gather those mushrooms, you know." Sasuke said, smugly.  
"Well…I do love mushrooms," she said, and kissed him.  
OoOoOoO  
Neji waited in the shadow of the gates for a long time, quietly examining his feelings. Hinata had been gone most of the afternoon and he knew that she was with Kiba. She was always with Kiba. He supposed that, in a situation such as this, he should be feeling jealous. On some level, perhaps he was. However, Neji was uncomfortably aware that if he was jealous, it was not because his fiancé was out doing…things…with another man. No. He was jealous of his cousin, of her freedom, of her brazen selfishness. He was jealous that she was allowed to feel whatever she wanted, that she was allowed to play at romance, while he felt firmly chained by filial duty. The emotion was foolish, especially because if he really loved her, he would allow her what small measure of happiness that he could. Neji chewed his lip, lost in thought. A man was supposed to love his wife, but Hinata had always been just an awkward little child to him, more a nuisance than anything else. In many ways, Hinata was stillbeing a nuisance.  
He heard the gate open softly and went to confront his cousin and future wife on her unbecoming behavior. She pulled the gate closed softly, trying hard not to make too much noise. He rolled his eyes. She really was a rather poor excuse for a ninja. A mistake of birth, a trick of fate, had given her everything and left him a servant in his own house. Birth was the only reason why she was heir to the Hyuuga clan instead of him. Neji was, by far, the stronger ninja and generally considered to be a more capable leader as well. Hiashi had made no secret of his disappointment in his eldest daughter and his hopes that by marrying her to Neji, he would be able to claim an heir worthy of the title. In his marriage to Hinata, Neji was being given an opportunity to rule the Hyuuga clan in the way he had always been meant to. He would be part of the main house, a master of the clan and a servant no longer…  
Hinata turned away from the gate and saw him. He had expected her to be startled, maybe a bit embarrassed, but instead the girl mostly looked miserable. Her mouth tightened into an unhappy line as she crossed her arms and waited for him to approach.  
"You were with him again, weren't you?" Neji accused, sounding petty even to his own ears.  
"Yes." She said simply.  
"This has gone on for far long enough. We are to be married in less than a month and this foolishness is becoming a scandal. You are not to see him again." Neji said coldly. Hinata took a deep breath.  
"I…I will not marry you cousin," the Hyuuga princess whispered softly.  
"Don't be ridiculous. You don't have any choice in the matter and neither do I. The arrangement has already been decided," he said testily.  
"I won't do it. I will not marry you." Hinata said, her voice quivering just a little.  
Neji pitied her a bit then, the feeling small, tight and miserable. Even as privileged as she was, a spoiled little princess, perhaps his cousin was still a slave. Both of them were bound by duty, but only he seemed to realize the truth of the situation. Hinata was young, she had not been forced to grow up the way Neji had. He could understand how she might be frightened.  
"I know that losing Kiba is difficult, but everything will be okay. Don't worry." Neji said softly, trying to smile comfortingly.  
"I…I won't do it. I do not love you, cousin." She whispered, lips trembling.  
"Love will come with time. Hiashi says…"  
"My father knows nothing of love…" Hinata hissed, her expression becoming hard.  
"Stop it, Hinata. We will be married. Arguing about it is pointless. It is our fate." Neji said firmly.  
"Fate," She spat bitterly, "You have forgotten what Naruto tried to teach you all those years ago. You are still a slave to fate."  
"It is what Hiashi has ordered." Neji snapped, bristling.  
"You are a slave to him too. Can't you see it? He is only using you!" Hinata replied.  
"I KNOW where my loyalties lie! It is time you remembered your duty, to your family!"  
"I won't do it. I will NOT marry you! You cannot force me." She snapped, her voice growing firmer.  
"Your father can." He countered tartly.  
"Your blind obedience to my father is wrong, Neji! Someday you will discover who he really is and then you will die for his whims, just like Uncle did. Don't make the same mistakes that your father did." Hinata whispered urgently.  
"His motives don't matter. I am a loyal Hyuuga, just as my father was. I was never given the indulgence of being allowed to act like a spoiled brat." He hissed.  
"Why do you want this so badly? It isn't as though…it isn't that you love me." Hinata replied quietly.  
"It is the way of things! It is our responsibility! Love has nothing to do with it!"  
"Yes! Yes, cousin, it DOES!" she shouted.  
Neji's eyes widened. Hinata was by nature a very quiet person, hardly raising her voice for any reason. He barely remembered the last time he had actually heard her shout, much less in anger and she was angry. The girl stood before him with her teeth bared and her face flushed. He had never seen her so angry.  
"Hina…just…don't see him again." Neji said gently.  
"No. I will see him. I love Kiba and I am going to marry him. If you are not willing to fight for someone, then you don't love them enough. I love him. I am willing to fight." Hinata snarled.  
"Hina, will you listen to yourself? Who are you fighting?" Neji asked, his voice gentle.  
"You, Neji…you. I challenge you to a match and if I win…you renounce any claims to our marriage." Hinata said slowly, swallowing hard.  
"That…you can't do that…" He hissed.  
"I can. It is legal by Hyuuga by-laws and customs. Read the documents yourself." She said softly.  
"Hina, no! Don't do that! You remember what happened last time we fought…" Neji whispered urgently, raising a hand to touch her hair. She slapped it away.  
"Yes. I do. You won and I almost died, but Neji…I would rather die than marry you." She whispered and there was no anger in the words. It was merely the truth.  
"You hate me so much?" Neji whispered, taken aback. She shook her head.  
"No. No cousin. I do not hate you. I love you, very dearly, but not the way my father wants me to. I love you too much to spend a lifetime trying to love you as a wife, when my heart belongs fully to another. It would not be fair, Neji. I would rather die fighting for Kiba, than live trapped in a lie forever with you." Hinata said softly, looking sad.  
"Hina…"  
"I challenge you, Neji Hyuuga. I challenge you to a duel for the ownership of my marriage contract. Be in the arena at dawn tomorrow or forfeit any right to me," she said, and her voice was strong.  
Neji scowled, stepping back from her. She had spoken the formal words and the gate guardians could be called upon to witness the challenge if needed. Foolish child. Neji felt a sickening knot tighten in his guts. She would not win, she could not win and yet… she said she would rather die than accept her fate.  
"Fight with courage, cousin. You will lose." He whispered tightly.  
"Either way, I have satisfied my honor. Take care to protect your own," she said and turned away.  
OoOoOoO  
"By the gods! Naruto! Slow down!" Sai huffed, as he sprinted through the trees.  
"Keep up or shut up! I AM sleeping at home tonight. Believe it!" Naruto called back happily.  
"Well, far be it for us to prevent you from getting much needed cuddle time with Sakura and the murdering terror of all Konohakagure." Shino remarked blandly.  
"Sakura definitely, though Sasuke isn't very snuggly." Naruto replied as he ran.  
"Humph, big surprise. The world's biggest sociopath doesn't like to snuggle. I knew he had to be a crappy lay." Sai announced sarcastically and rather too loudly.  
"I didn't say that." Naruto replied with a toothy smile.  
"Don't be rude Sai. After all, I can see it. He is almost as pretty as a girl, what else do you need really?" Shino said, moving beside Naruto as they ran.  
"Don't let him hear you say that. I like my friends and I haven't completely broken him of killing people." Naruto said with a laugh.  
"I thought you…like…controlled him? You know? With the thrall?" Sai shouted from somewhere several yards behind.  
"Not very much or very often. I only do it if I need him to do something, or not do something, really, REALLY important. I put him under the thrall when I told him not to leave the compound and so he physically can't leave our land, well, unless he is with Sakura. Then he can. I mean he could try I guess, but it would be very hard, and he doesn't even want to in the first place. He always bitches when I want to go out together." Naruto whined.  
"I noticed that at the bar before we left. He seemed totally mad. Is that what Kiba means by looks that kill?" Sai asked.  
"It's 'IF looks could kill' and yes, that is what he means. He looked positively venomous." Shino said.  
"Well, the Old Lady always manages to piss him off." Naruto explained.  
"You could put him under the thrall for dates, especially if the Hokage is there. Dating is important." Shino suggested.  
"He would never forgive me if I used the thrall on him for any little thing and, between us, I could not handle it if he hated me. Even a little," Naruto said, somewhat somberly.  
"That sucks for you. He hates everyone." Sai huffed.  
"No, Sasuke loves me. Believe it." Naruto said with a smile.  
"He says that he hates you." Sai noted.  
"He has problems expressing his emotions, not like you would know anything about that, Sai." Naruto sniped.  
"Sai is just jealous." Shino teased.  
"I am NOT!" Sai protested loudly, startling some birds.  
"He would really have liked to be your subordinate instead." Shino continued.  
"Shut UP! That is NOT true!" Sai argued.  
"Ho! Maybe you protest too much!" Naruto teased, warming to the game.  
"If I ever catch you guys, I am going to KILL you both!" Sai shouted indignantly.  
"Do it. Attempted murder gets him off." Shino said pleasantly.  
"Shut up and run." Naruto grinned.  
"So…Sasuke can't leave the compound?" Sai asked.  
"No. That is why no one has gruesomely murdered you in your sleep yet, Sai." Shino replied somewhat tersely.  
"He can't leave without my permission or unless he is out someplace with Sakura." Naruto said.  
"Yeah…But what about if someone went onto the Uchiha property? He could still kill them right?" Sai pressed.  
"Even Sasuke is not just going to go around attacking Naruto's visitors." Shino huffed.  
"Yeah…But what if Sasuke did not know they were visitors? What if someone just came into the compound without announcing themselves?"  
"Oh come on! No one would be that stupid!" Naruto laughed.  
They ran in silence for a long while as the sun began to grow tawny and long shadows stretched from the trees. The terrain grew denser, the forest thicker and more lush. When the trees were so thick that the ninja barely had to jump between them anymore, the young men knew they had entered the outer borders of Konoha territory. The land would only seem like more wilderness to anyone who did not recognize the subtle signs on the trees signifying that this was indeed the hidden kingdom of Leaf. To the returning shinobi, the subtle embrace of their homeland could not have been more obvious and welcome. Though the team was tired and had been running for many hours, they moved faster through the trees, each eager to reach home at last. As the trees spread out to afford glimpses of the weakly shining lanterns beyond, Naruto broke from the rest of the group, heading towards the Uchiha estate. Shino and Sai waved to him briefly before turning back towards their own destinations. They would turn the reports in tomorrow morning, the sun was nearly set and business could wait a while longer.  
Naruto dove through the trees, a black and orange blur against the greenery. He was eager to hold Sakura in his arms, to run his fingers through Sasuke's midnight hair. However, the first sense of his home and his mates was not the musky tang of Sasuke's sweat or the sweat perfume of Sakura's bath salts but…blood. He paused, breathing heavily, mouth open to capture the scent. The putrid scent of drying gore was heavy in the air, flowing thickly from the west. A brief pang of panic lanced through Naruto's soul before he was able to ascertain that it was not Sakura or Sasuke that had been hurt. The scent of their bodies was faint on the wind and coming from the opposite direction. The jinchuuriki breathed a sigh of relief, though he noted with concern that the blood did smell decidedly human. He moved towards the scent, finding traces in the western forest of a brief struggle and, somewhat later, a hurried retreat.  
Naruto groaned. It was not the first time some hapless hunter or curious villager had tried to sneak onto the vast territory of the Uzumaki estate. The other times, however, he had been home and available to stop Sasuke from completely tearing the person apart. This time, well, it would appear that the intruders had not been so lucky. The signs in the forest gave every indication that his subordinate had, in fact, torn a human body into progressively smaller pieces. It seemed excessive, even for Sasuke, almost ritualistic... The raven haired shinobi was hideously territorial and not without good reason, as far as Naruto was concerned. The only times when someone had effectively penetrated the Uchiha forest was during the massacre of Sasuke's family and the nearly successful attempted murder of Naruto himself. Sasuke had his full blessing to protect their home as he saw fit, though what had happened in the western woods was more than merely a reaction to an intruder. No. Sasuke had taken his time here. His belly filled with ice and worry, Naruto turned away from the blood smeared over the grass and ran towards the main house.  
OoOoOoO  
Both of them sensed him at once, their heads rising in unison as the warm thrum of Naruto's returning presence thrummed deeply through their souls. Sasuke smiled quietly, hiding his face behind his hair out of habit. Sakura laughed out loud, moving to pull some of the duck eggs out of the fridge in order to make Naruto's favorite kind of ramen. Sasuke enjoyed the way her graceful body moved through the kitchen, the way her long pink hair flowed between her shoulder blades. Soon Naruto would be home and Sasuke would be bent against her, groaning for his alpha in unfettered passion. Naruto would stroke him, caress him, command his submission and the release would be glorious. Despite how he had once tried to deny it, Naruto was an amazing lover and Sasuke ached for him in a way too intimate to express. The raven knew that Sakura felt the same. Even if he had not seen the cherry blush spreading over her cheeks, he would have known through the link they shared that the girl was as eager for Naruto's touch as he was. Sakura began humming softly, her posture practically taught with anticipation.  
Sasuke smiled and returned his attention to re-sharpening his sword, the lustrous steel shining almost purple in his hands. The katana was not the one he had carried during the years when he only dreamt of blood and vengeance, that one had been lost among so many other things when he had finally been dragged back to Leaf. The lavender sword had been a wedding gift from Naruto, forged of the finest steel in the entire world, wrought in the renowned forges of Iron country. Naruto had had it made almost a year in advance and had travelled thousands of miles to the north to collect it himself. More than a weapon, the sword had been a symbol of the Jinchuuriki's trust, given to Sasuke at the same moment as he spoke his vows. Such a thing was not usually accepted and had caused quite a scandal among the other villages. After all, who had ever heard of an Oni alpha gifting his subordinate with a dangerous weapon of all things? Why not just give him a nice kimono?  
The guests had whispered and the gossip was still spreading, so far as he knew. Naruto had been gently chastised by Killer Bee over the choice and had frankly told the other jinchuuriki that the way he chose to conduct his family was not anyone else's damn business. Sasuke smiled at the memory. The sword was easily the finest object he had ever owned and Sasuke loved it. He loved it for its grace and its power, but mostly because Naruto had given it to him as a token of love and he had finally allowed himself to cherish the emotion. It truly was far too fine a weapon for the hard use it had had today, but Sasuke had left as soon as he felt the wards being tripped and the lovely sword had been the weapon in his hands at the time. Cutting through better than fifty hard joints had dulled the blade badly and Sasuke hoped he would be able to regain its perfect edge.  
He knew that there was a good chance Naruto would be angry with him over the Hyuuga spy, but the once-Uchiha did not care. He had pledged his love and service to Naruto and that meant protecting the idiot even if the dobe did not realize the threats that surrounded him. Sasuke did not blame Naruto for his ignorance, though it often frustrated him. Like Sakura, the blond had not grown up in the squirming pit of intrigue and death that was life as among the high houses. To Naruto, the dangers in life were largely a matter of perspective and most people were good if only given the chance. Usually, the blond was right and his sunny brand of optimism was, perhaps, Naruto's most magnetic quality. Still, Sasuke was not willing to take any chances, not with Sakura so vulnerable.  
"I'm back!" Naruto bellowed as he stomped through the hall.  
"Naruto!" Sakura squealed, running to jump into his arms. Sasuke said nothing but stood and moved to meet him nonetheless.  
.  
"Sakura! Teme! By Kami I missed you guys!" Naruto thundered jovially.  
Naruto pulled them both into his arms, kissing and nuzzling every inch of available flesh until Sakura was giggling madly. Naruto picked her up in his left arm as easily as someone would a child and crushed Sasuke against his chest, his blue eyes intense and searching. The raven had the uncomfortable desire to look away, to drop his gaze from the probing blue. Only Naruto could ever look at him that way. Only Naruto could make him feel as though his every thought or sin was laid bare to see. Sasuke met his alpha's mouth gently, his worry that Naruto might disapprove of his actions plain in the way his lips softened beneath the blond's. Naruto kissed him, accepted the submission, his hand hard in Sasuke's hair as he plundered the other's mouth. After several breathless moments, Naruto released them, though his nose lingered a moment in Sakura's glittering mane.  
"Dobe, I see you managed to survive." Sasuke greeted him blandly.  
"Hey teme, I see you managed to hack somebody into itty bitty pieces while I was away." Naruto said, raising an eyebrow. Sasuke crossed his arms.  
"I intercepted a team of Hyuuga spies. You have managed to make some rather impressive enemies, idiot." Sasuke said with a huff.  
"How do you know they were there for me and not for you? And why did you kill one of them like that?" Naruto asked seriously.  
"It is how a clan should treat any who dare invade their territory. It was the traditional way a prisoner of war is dealt with. I sent a message in the only language Hiashi will understand." Sasuke hissed.  
"Teme, I do not think that antagonizing the Hyuuga is a wise idea. Besides, Neji and Hinata are my friends!" Naruto argued, frowning.  
"Friends or not, their loyalty is to their clan and they probably have no idea that their leader has been threatening us!" Sasuke snarled, trying to explain.  
"Sasuke, are you sure a few people wandering around in the western woods is really supposed to be a threat?"  
"Are you blind or just stupid? Those were not just people! They were an elite intelligence operation, probably trained assassins!" Sasuke railed.  
"I made duck egg ramen with wild mushrooms for dinner!" Sakura shouted, obviously trying to diffuse the argument.  
"Ah! I love you! Thank Kami! Ramen! My favorite!" Naruto cheered, and Sasuke knew the argument had been dropped for the moment. Sasuke sighed.  
"I even bought freshly made ramen noodles from Hojo's stand! I remembered how much you liked his noodles last time," Sakura said cheerfully.  
"Sounds amazing! I'm starving!"  
"You're always starving." Sasuke said sourly, rolling his eyes.  
Though Naruto had decided to drop the matter in favor of dinner, Sasuke was still angry. He tried to summon his patience and wait until a more appropriate moment presented itself. The Jinchuuriki was only being stubborn because he did not fully understand all the factors at stake. If Naruto knew that Sakura was with child, Sasuke was fairly certain his attitude towards the matter would change.  
"What about the mushrooms? It's still pretty early for those, you must have had to hunt around for them a long time, Sakura." Naruto said, eyeing the large basket of freshly cleaned mushrooms with appreciation.  
"Well…actually, Sasuke got those. I…uh…wasn't feeling well." She finished lamely.  
"Oh? I don't suppose those are from the western woods?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"Sakura always wants mushrooms and it seemed as good a distraction as any. I had a shadow clone get them while I dealt with…other things." Sasuke said with a shrug. Naruto frowned.  
Sakura stirred the much debated fungus into the rich duck broth, adding green onions and a spoonful of miso as well. The soup cooked quickly, the rich aroma drifting through the kitchen. Sasuke had never taken the time to cultivate an interest in food until his capture and return to Konoha. Before, food had been fuel, a necessary weakness of the human body and nothing more. Enjoyment of eating had been something almost foreign to him, something civilians did. He was glad that Sakura had slowly, but surely changed his attitude about taking meals. The scent of the soup was making his mouth water and Naruto looked about ready to gnaw off one of his own limbs. Food had been one of the first ways that Sakura had shown him that she still loved him. That despite all he had done, Sasuke still had another chance. Since then, he had grown to love her cooking, to enjoy the experience of good food for its own sake.  
One of the servants had already set the table in anticipation of the meal Sakura was making and all that was left to do was move the soup over from the stove. Sasuke settled the sword into its scabbard and moved to help Sakura with the soup pot. She was chatting with Naruto about the mission and the weather and anything and everything other than babies and would-be assassins. Sasuke sighed. It was going to be an awkward evening. One of the servants bowed politely and carried his sword away to the weapons room. After much squabbling and hard handed logic, Naruto had finally agreed to hire a small staff to look after the vast Uchiha mansion. The Jinchuuriki didn't like the idea of 'all sorts of strange people in my house,' but there were actually very few alternatives to hiring at least a couple housekeepers. The Uchiha estate was simply too large for anyone else to maintain and still live the life of a shinobi. Even Naruto, with an army of shadow clones, had barely been able to keep the house in working order and he had acceded in the end out of sheer exhaustion.  
The old woman who had cared for him in the beginning, Sasuke now knew her name was Yuko, was the first to become a permanent fixture in the household. Naruto had been less cagey about a kindly old lady and Sakura had come to like her as well. Yuko was careful and silent and believed that discretion was the better part of valor, a philosophy that served her well in the boisterous Uzumaki household. Even now, the old lady was sweeping the deck just beyond the sliding doors, unobtrusively available if Sakura should need her help. Sasuke smiled at her and received a smile and a small bow in return. Though the title was not official, Yuko-san had basically become the major domo of the Uzumaki clan and Sasuke sometimes wondered how they had managed to survive without her. The house was cleaner, the library was organized and while Naruto still worried that one of the staff would accidentally walk in on the trio during sex, that particular problem had not yet come up. Sasuke had quietly hired a couple more people for additional help since Sakura became pregnant. Yet another topic of conversation that ought to be avoided indefinitely.  
They sat down to dinner with a rather desperate sounding "itadakimasu!" from Naruto, who began eating even before the soup had been completely ladled into his bowl. Sasuke tasted the soup and decided that he liked the dish, even with all the extra mushrooms. Lately Sakura only seemed to want mushrooms, every kind of mushrooms, and chocolate ice cream. The combination was odd to say the least, but Yuko had said something about weird cravings being normal. Sakura tasted the soup and sighed luxuriously.  
"Ah! Sasuke! The mushrooms are delicious, I love mushrooms…" She exclaimed dreamily.  
"Mushrooms huh? That's new…" Naruto said, looking at her suspiciously. Sakura sighed.  
"I have been kinda…craving them…lately…" She muttered.  
"That and chocolate ice cream." Sasuke added, spearing some duck in his chopsticks.  
"Oh…?" Naruto asked, around a mouthful of noodles. Sasuke took a breath and tried to stay calm.  
"Yeah…well…it's probably because…well…I'm pregnant." She said, smiling a little shyly.  
Naruto's soup spoon landed back in his bowl with the resounding crack of breaking porcelain and ramen broth was flung everywhere. The Jinchuuriki coughed hard and finally managed to bring air into his lungs around the inhaled wad of ramen. Yuko came in from her watchful sweeping and silently went to fetch a towel. Sasuke groaned. She was both lovely and powerful, but Sakura had the worst timing. The blond's eyes were huge and very blue as he stared at their wife. Sasuke took another bite and tried to convince his foolish belly to relax out of the tight knot it had been wound into. Sakura swallowed hard, pushing her noodles around nervously with her chopsticks. Naruto blinked once, then again. Sasuke held his breath. The Jinchuuriki cocked his head attentively, fixing Sakura with that deep azure gaze that, as far as Sasuke knew, only he could achieve.  
"My love…could you please say that again?" He asked quietly.  
"I'm pregnant." She repeated, her hands trembling only a little.  
There was a moment of fragile stillness, with Naruto staring dumbfounded into Sakura's eyes. Sasuke stared too, trying to read the jinchuuriki's reaction, but he was not allowed to contemplate the problem for very long. The blond pounced up onto the table, heedless of the food, and lunged across the serving dishes to nuzzle Sakura's cheek.  
"Oh! Wow! Really? When…I mean what…I mean when…Ah! Wow!" Naruto babbled, smiling hugely.  
He stood and wrapped her in his arms, laughing wildly. Sasuke deftly moved the cracked soup bowl out of the way, saving Sakura a soggy knee as the jinchuuriki dragged her laughing across the table. The pair stared at each other for a gentle moment and Naruto laid his hand against her belly, practically purring with happiness. Sasuke enjoyed the way that Naruto's eyes lit up with joy as Sakura nodded once more. They kissed passionately and then Sasuke was being manhandled onto the table as well, caught in Naruto's powerful left hand. Chopsticks flew and Sasuke would later have to wash the noodles out of his hair, but in the moment only the calluses on Naruto's palms and the scent of Sakura's hair seemed to matter. Though he hated to admit it, Sasuke had desperately missed him, had longed to see what he would say about the baby. They kissed and touched and fed her bites of mushrooms and generally made an awful mess. Sasuke laughed, at first quietly and then louder as Naruto nipped him playfully on the ear. It was the first time he had really laughed in weeks. When they had regained a little of the breath lost laughing and kissing, Sasuke was lying against Naruto's shoulder and Sakura was tucked into the blond's arms. For the first time in many weeks, Sasuke felt like he could relax, like he could finally breathe. Naruto turned to Sakura, stroking a finger down her face.  
"How long until…you know…" Naruto asked, nuzzling her throat gently.  
"About seven months." She murmured.  
"You knew before I left…naughty…" He accused, the corner of his mouth raised in a taunting smile.  
"She told me the day you left for Wind country." Sasuke said quietly, running his fingers over the crest of Naruto's ear.  
"I…I didn't want to worry you. If something had happened to you on that mission, because you were distracted…" She turned away, hiding her eyes.  
"I understand. It's okay. I love you…baby, are you crying?" Naruto asked, suddenly concerned.  
Sakura snuffled softly, pressing her face into the table cloth. Sasuke moved a bit closer, rolling so he could hold her. The girl was shaking, her nearly silent sobbing vibrating through her body like beads through a sieve. Sasuke said nothing, not sure what to say, running his hands over her back in soothing circles instead. Naruto cupped her cheek, his face worried. Sasuke met his eyes over her shoulder, shrugging a bit to show his mate that he was equally mystified by the behavior. Naruto rumbled softly, lapping the tears from her face with the roughened velvet of his tongue.  
"If anything…anything had happened…Oh! I just…I couldn't…Oh Naruto! I'm so glad that you're home and s…s…safe…" She sobbed, practically hysterical.  
"It's okay baby, I'm home. I'm not going anywhere for a long, long time." Naruto whispered, smiling gently.  
Sasuke rose onto an elbow and met Naruto's lips over Sakura's shoulder. The kiss was needy and a little rough, but Naruto's hand in his hair was gentle and soothing. Sasuke moaned against his mouth, feeling his body heat with the contact. At last, the warmth fully returned to his blood, chasing away the chilly uncertainty that always came with Naruto's absence. For the first time in weeks Sasuke felt the gnawing anxiety melt away into the luscious inferno of Naruto's embrace. He felt comfortable, safe. Sakura was running her lips over his neck, kissing and licking in tiny teasing circles over the taught muscles.  
"That was why you were so worried about the wards." Naruto murmured against Sasuke's lips.  
"I won't let them onto our land, near her, near our child…" The raven haired ninja whispered fiercely, biting Naruto's mouth aggressively.  
Naruto pulled back from him, looking at his subordinate steadily. Sasuke scowled and met his eyes with just a hint of haughtiness. While his perspective had widened to include the undeniable fact that the dobe was occasionally correct in his assessment of certain situations, in this case Naruto was wrong. Even now, the thought of someone entering his home, laying their hands on Sakura made his vision hazy with rage. He remembered how she had looked, bleeding in the snow, lying over Naruto's still, cold body. He remembered the bruises on her arms, on her face, on her hips. She had tried to hide the marks while Naruto was healing, but he had seen them anyway, the indelible evidence of what had almost happened. The thought made him sick. Once he had hesitated, he had watched it happen because he was not sure what to do. He had let them hurt her, for reasons that no longer made sense in his fractured memory of that awful day. He had almost allowed Naruto to be killed, had practically watched him die through the pounding lens of the sharingan. Never again. No one would be allowed to hurt her, to hurt his family, ever again.  
"It was a reconnaissance team? You are sure?" Naruto asked, his eyes narrowed into slits.  
"Hai." Sasuke hissed through his teeth.  
"You think the Hyuuga are plotting something?" Naruto asked, chewing his lower lip.  
Sakura nuzzled against Sasuke's chest, obviously worried that they would fight again. Naruto kissed the back of her neck soothingly, but his eyes never left Sasuke's face. The tension stretched, brittle and infinite for a moment longer. The raven haired ninja took a deep breath before replying again.  
"I do."  
Naruto was still for a moment, obviously thinking. He turned to Sakura, who was looking up at them with soggy green eyes made even wetter with concern. Sasuke ran his fingers over her face, gentle and loving in a way that his language never was. Naruto kissed her once, softly, and moved to place his hand over her belly. He brushed his nose against Sasuke's, allowing the other nin to study his face. Sasuke looked into his alpha's expression finding warmth there, unspoken anticipation, as well as dark aggression and the slightest trace of fear.  
"If they come again, don't worry about sending messages," Naruto whispered, "Kill them all."  
OoOoOoO  
Sasuke moaned in helpless abandon as Naruto moved within him, thrusting hard into his captive body. Too much time had passed since he was last penetrated and the flesh was tight and sensitive around Naruto's thick arousal. He panted, trying to relax as Naruto moved further into him. There was pain and stretch and the molten, consuming pleasure that melted Sasuke's very mind into white hot nothing. Sakura was still lying in a spent, boneless heap beside them, her pale flesh rosy with completion. Naruto had taken her first, making her cum again and again until the very air seemed charged with her cries and the scent of her passion. They had both loved her, with fingers and tongues and finally with Naruto's cock. The girl had been ravenous for them, as the healing scratches on both his and Naruto's skin still attested, but not so much as the Jinchuuriki. Weeks alone and celibate had put a clear edge onto Naruto's sexual appetite. The blond had taken her, softly at first, but had never once stopped moving in the hours since they had retreated to the bedroom. He had bent Sakura over the bed and penetrated her while moving his fingers into Sasuke's mouth. An edge of discomfort, a hint of bruised dignity, had stung him but Sasuke had allowed the invasion because…because it wasNaruto. There was something wildly erotic about the feel of Naruto's hand in his mouth, stroking his tongue, gathering wetness to rub against Sakura's sensitive nipples. Naruto knew how to make him feel both helpless and aroused, how to halt Sasuke's ever meticulous mind so that his body could react without distraction, how to remind him to whom he belonged.  
After the softness of their initial reunion, Naruto had moved powerfully in Sakura as she sucked Sasuke's erection. The three of them had been connected through her flesh, pulled magnetically to the very edge of orgasm by the strong, hot friction of her glorious body. Sakura knew how to tongue him, lapping the hardened flesh, bringing him to the edge before setting her teeth gently against the crown, breaking the rhythm. She had been able to keep him stimulated, aroused beyond the normal limits a man should have, his every nerve tingling with the thrusts of her tongue. He had screamed in ecstasy when she pushed her tongue into the tender slit and only Naruto's sharp claws against his thigh had prevented Sasuke from releasing into her clever mouth.  
Sasuke cried out as Naruto's clawed fingers roamed over his belly, moving lower to stroke the hardened flesh between his legs. The raven could still feel the ghost of Sakura's mouth on the tender skin, the muscular teasing of her tongue against his sensitive body. He shivered. Naruto ran his tongue over the electric spot behind his ear rumbling in powerful approval of the almost desperate whimper escaping through Sasuke's clenched teeth. Sasuke struggled just a little, just enough to feel the vibration of Naruto's warning growl as the jinchuuriki held him tighter. Naruto pushed Sasuke's legs further apart, achieving an even deeper angle of penetration. He gasped as the blond pounded against his prostate, sparkling spots dancing in his vision. The raven was lost in the sensation, the powerful motion of Naruto's hips merging with his own heartbeat until Sasuke could not tell which was which. They moved in graceful, practiced union, bodies colliding with sinuous grace.  
When Sasuke was very close, held back only by the tight grip of Naruto's hand on his straining penis, Naruto gestured to Sakura. Moving with the sensuous undulation of a hunting cat, the girl moved beneath them, her ample curves luscious in the soft bedroom light. She licked Sasuke's neck, kissing away the tears flowing unheeded from his eyes. A moment of stillness, of indrawn breath and Sakura's fingers against his scalp, and then Naruto was moving him. The jinchuuriki guided Sasuke into the girl's moist body, enfolding his aching length in her tight heat. The sensation was beyond physical, beyond anything human experience had taught him. The pleasure was more than mere ecstasy, more than love or thought or feeling itself. Sasuke felt his soul swell with fullness even greater than the intimate ache of Naruto moving in his stiff body. Naruto had taken them this way before, many times, but the eroticism of the act never waned. Sasuke whimpered softly into Sakura's hair, his flesh singing with desire so intense the feeling bordered closely on pain. Sakura wrapped her arms around him, undulating smoothly to deepen his movement into her body. The soft press of her breasts was luscious against the heaving planes of his chest. She sank her teeth into the long muscle of his neck and Sasuke arched against her in ecstasy.  
Naruto was moving him, moving into him, moving into her, deep and inescapable. They were one. Naruto thrust hard into Sasuke, the oni's powerful body setting a new rhythm. He drove Sasuke into Sakura with the force of a freight train, each stroke bringing more vibrating pleasure than the last. Sasuke and Sakura cried out as one, their breath mingling in heady abandon. Naruto was loving them both, claiming them as his own once again. The Jinchuuriki drove him into her even as Sasuke's own body was ravished and he could only moan and scream and kiss her and finally give into the blinding orgasm. Naruto strained inside him, pumping low and deep, as liquid heat spilled into his quivering flesh and Sakura shrieked her release against the curve of his throat.  
OoOoOoO  
"Naruto-sama…Naruto-sama…?" The voice called in the darkness.  
Naruto woke to the sound of his name called quietly from beyond the bedroom door. He blinked once, seeing as easily in the darkness of the room as he would in broad daylight, searching lazily for the source of the noise. The jinchuuriki was still tangled amongst Sakura and Sasuke, warm and comfortable for the first time in weeks. He groaned. Yuko-san better have a very important question in order to wake him at this hour of the night. Naruto toyed with merely ignoring her. Still, the old woman never bothered him in bed unless the matter was fairly urgent and though the voice was quiet he detected an element of strain in it as well. He sighed. The faster he got up and dealt with whatever new disaster had befallen the staff, the faster he could go back to bed.  
Naruto rose, careful not to disturb Sakura or Sasuke with the movement. He untangled himself gently from Sasuke who had fallen asleep against his chest and moved a pillow into Sakura's hands so she wouldn't notice the absence of his head against her belly. They were beautiful, spread in an artful array of pale limbs and sleeping faces over the bed. Naruto sighed and brushed a stray lock of midnight hair away from Sasuke's fine, aquiline features. In sleep, the dark haired ninja looked younger, his face smoothed of the ever present scowl. Naruto took a moment to appreciate how lovely his porcelain skin looked covered in the rose colored curtain of Sakura's hair. Truly, his mates complemented each other in an aesthetic even a very great artist would never have dared to dream of. Asleep against one another, pale and fine and gorgeous, the two of them looked like angels. Naruto smiled ironically. The image was deceiving; he knew that they were demons, monsters, both of them. Somehow the truth of their nature was even more satisfying.  
Naruto quietly pulled on his kimono and a pair of soft sleep pants. He moved out into the hall where a small oil lamp burned beside a worried looking old woman. Naruto smiled at her gently, aware that in the semi-dark his pupils would be frightening slits. Yuko bowed low before him and gestured a short way down the hall to avoid waking Sakura and Sasuke.  
"Naruto-sama! I apologize for waking you! You have a visitor." Yuko explained, bowing again.  
"It's fine! It's fine! Please, just 'Naruto' okay?" He said, laughing awkwardly.  
"Yes, Naruto-sama. The girl arrived just a few minutes ago and at first I thought to turn her away, but…" Yuko quibbled, wringing her tiny hands.  
Naruto stared at her. It was the most he had ever heard the old woman speak in a single moment since he had met her. She was obviously upset and Naruto began to worry about his late night visitor more and more. With one last weary sigh, Naruto gestured towards the main reception area. Yuko bowed again and led him towards the brightly lit sitting room. Once they had reached the screen door, Naruto gestured for Yuko to pause.  
"Did our visitor give you a name?" He asked, trying not to yawn.  
"Hai. She is the lady Hyuuga Hanabi." Yuko said softly, obviously worried about his reaction.  
Naruto frowned, but nodded, Sasuke's previous words ringing loudly in his head. Yuko knelt and opened the doors to reveal a thirteen year old girl sobbing uncontrollably against the tea table. Naruto hesitated a moment, a hysterical teenager not the sort of situation he felt confident handling well and walked quietly into the room. The girl noticed his presence at once and threw herself into a low bow at his feet.  
"Yuko, could you make some tea please?" Naruto asked softly, wondering if his evening could get any weirder.  
The old woman bowed and hurried off as Naruto knelt beside the quivering girl. He had only met Hinata's little sister a few times before and remembered her mainly as a sharp tongued and sarcastic child easily moved to anger. Sort of a brat really. Usually she was with Hinata who softened the girls nature tremendously or Neji who merely tolerated her with chilly silence. He had never spoken to her alone and certainly never seen her in tears. Her long black hair was spread out in a wet fan around her shaking shoulders, her feet bare and dirty from running.  
"Hanabi? Are you alright?" He asked softly.  
Naruto was suddenly very much aware that the princess of a house that he now saw as an enemy had come alone. Not even an escort was waiting beyond the curtains in the main hall. Naruto was not sure what that meant, but Sasuke would have likely said that it was dangerously improper. Could the whole thing be a trap? A ploy? Was Hanabi even aware that his subordinate had hacked one of her kinsmen into pieces earlier that day?  
"N…Naruto! P…Please…I…I…need your help!" Hanabi sobbed, pressing her face hard into the tatami.  
"Shhhh…slow down. What is the matter?" He asked gently.  
"Sister…my sister…Oh! She's your friend right? You'll help her, won't you?" Hanabi asked, her pale silver pupil-less eyes wide and desperate.  
"Hey, calm down, shhhh! What is the matter with Hinata? What is going on?"  
"She…She challenged Neji for a duel, t…to win her marriage contract back from him! They fight tomorrow at dawn! She is going to die! You have to stop her, she listens to you! Please!" Hanabi begged, dissolving into hysteria again.  
"Hinata is fighting Neji?" Naruto whispered.  
"She does not want to marry him, and I don't blame her. Cousin is boring and cold and he never even tells her that she is pretty! She IS pretty!" Hanabi snarled.  
"But…Kiba does?" Naruto prompted kindly.  
"Yes. Kiba-sama is nice and cute and Sissy always smiles when he is with her. I wish she could marry him!" Hanabi said miserably.  
"Obviously she does too." Naruto said with a smile.  
"Yeah, but Neji is ready to marry her and that is what father wants too…" Hanabi sobbed.  
"Your sister is free to fight for her happiness Hanabi, you would not want her to spend the rest of her life sad. Wouldn't Neji be sad also to be married to someone who does not love him?" Naruto offered.  
"But…Cousin is very good. He is VERY good. Only your wife has been able to beat him in the last three years and before that…only you…" Hanabi snuffled and Naruto detected a hint of hero worship in her words. He sighed.  
"Your sister is very strong too. You don't think she can win?"  
"Sister is very smart and very strong…but last time Neji almost killed her! He WOULD have KILLED her!" Hanabi shrieked.  
"Shhh….Shhhh…I remember." Naruto said, trying to calm her.  
"She won't do the same! Even if she sees a way, she wouldn't kill him. I don't think she even can! It is against her principles. Sissy is very proud of her honor." Hanabi said, a little bitterly.  
"Neji and Hinata have some…um…history. Neji just lost his temper that day, I don't think he would really kill her…"  
"He WOULD! He is in ANBU! He kills people every day and he doesn't even care!" The girl wailed.  
"Oh…I think he cares." Naruto said thoughtfully.  
"I HATE HIM!" She shouted, tears streaming from her eyes.  
"Hanabi…"  
"He is going to kill her! I love my sister! Please! Please! Tell her not to fight him! Please!" Hanabi begged.  
"Hanabi, now listen to me, your sister is going to win. I know her and she is strong, stronger than anybody else even knows. She can beat him, she WILL beat him. Hinata is not going to give up or hesitate because Kiba is important to her and she doesn't want to lose him. You need to support her! She needs to hear you cheering her on, because this fight is going to be very hard and she loves you. Loving somebody is not just about your feelings, but about theirs too!" Naruto said, looking the weeping girl firmly in the eyes.  
"Sissy…she…she is strong, but Cousin can be relentless!"  
"You have to trust her! If you show her that you believe in her, I know she will do it!" Naruto said, brushing the damp ebony hair out of the little girl's face.  
"I…I…love her. I can't lose her!" The girl cried.  
"If…If it comes to that. I will stop him myself." Naruto promised.  
The teenager flung herself into his arms, clinging tightly to his waist. Naruto laughed softly, patting her head awkwardly. Hanabi sobbed a moment longer before regaining a fraction of her composure. She released him, blushing hard and trying to wipe the tears off her face.  
"Y…You promise?" She asked, fiddling with her hair.  
"Yes. I promise, but only at the very end, only if she has lost for certain!" He stipulated, face serious.  
"You won't let her die?"  
"No. Definitely not."  
"You don't care if that makes Father angry?" She asked, a little afraid.  
"Not even a little bit. Want some tea? I think Sakura has some chocolate ice cream around here too…" Naruto offered with a toothy smile.  
"Hai!" Hanabi agreed enthusiastically and hugged him again.  
OoOoOoO  
Sai was drawing the stars again, the vague and almost uncomfortable stirring that the stars brought to his chest almost strong enough to call a feeling. He could sense Shino moving on the street below him and wondered if the other ninja might scale the building as he had before to socialize. Shino was his friend and sometimes came to talk. Sai liked having friends, friends like Naruto and Sakura were the best, but Shino was good too. Naruto said that friends liked to talk to each other for no other reason than because the act made them feel happy. For Sai, talking to Shino made him feel alert and comfortable and he hoped that the sensation was what Naruto had meant.  
The ninja held the sketchbook on his knees where he crouched upon the narrow ledge of his apartment building. He had chosen the residence since it was one of the tallest buildings in Konoha, even though the place had few benefits other than its height. Perhaps one day, when Naruto was Hokage, he would allow him to sit and draw at the top of the tower. Sai hoped so. Naruto was almost always nice to him. The graphite moved over the page almost with a life of its own, drawing the distant lights that filled Sai's thoughts and the skies above. He had drawn the stars many times before, but the task was difficult, never right. No rendering of the stars captured the true essence of the night sky. None of his drawings brought the same kind of sensation to him and so he drew them again and again...and again. The exercise had taken on a kind of obsessive quality and the floor of his tiny, spartan apartment was covered in the drawings. The air was chilly and his feet were stiff with the cold, he would have trouble moving later. Sai barely felt the pain, distracted by the knowledge that fall would begin soon. He felt a dull spark of anticipation of the season since the cold air would make the stars bright and clear and perhaps then…perhaps then…  
"You are going to freeze to death one of these days. You stay out too long because you ignore the cold." Shino said grumpily as he hauled himself up and out onto the ledge beside Sai.  
"Hmmm…" The other ninja replied vaguely.  
"Sai, you're angry aren't you." Shino stated blandly.  
"Am I?" Sai asked vaguely.  
Truly he didn't know. Anger, like all other emotions, was foreign to him and difficult to recognize. Root had taught him to feel nothing, had rubbed out everything except logic, calculation. If he had been able to feel as a child, Sai did not remember what it was like. On nights like tonight, when he drew the stars, there was something more in his mind. He felt something, he was sure this time that the sensation was a real feeling, but could not name the emotion. It could be anger, he supposed.  
"You always draw the stars when you're angry." Shino replied, settling himself in an irritable lump beside Sai on the ledge.  
"I must be angry a lot." Sai replied in a pleasant monotone.  
"Just since Naruto married. It's because you're jealous." Shino said conversationally.  
"Am not!" Sai said loudly, not paying much attention.  
"You just say that because you think that those words are what you are supposed to say, what people expect." Shino said with a sigh.  
"It isn't?" Sai asked, brow furrowed as he drew.  
"No. Usually it is, but now I think maybe it isn't. It sure isn't the truth." Shino replied.  
"I wonder what they are doing right now…with Sasuke." Sai said, very quietly.  
"Sai…I know you are in love with them, but you really need to let it go. It has been almost three years!" Shino said seriously.  
"Am I in love?"  
"As close as someone who doesn't even know what an emotion is gets, I would imagine." Shino remarked dryly.  
"I just wish…I wish I could be there, with them, like before…" Sai whispered.  
"Sai, it wouldn't be like before. That is what you don't understand." Shino said, pinching the bridge of his nose.  
"Naruto is still nice and Sakura is still sparkly and Gaara does have two subordinates…" Sai argued tonelessly.  
"A pack isn't a team! A pack is…well…sex is involved you know!" Shino hissed.  
"Kakashi sensei says sex will change your life."  
"Maybe, but in your case I am not sure what it would change into!"  
"I want to protect them." Sai said, tearing the page from the book and starting the drawing anew.  
"From what, Sai?"  
"Everything. I want to be with them."  
"No offense dude, but I think you are a little…uh…damaged for pack life." Shino whispered sadly.  
"Damaged…?" Sai asked, cocking his head.  
"Look…jinchuuriki packs are really…um…complicated ok? I mean socially complicated. You know how you don't understand stuff sometimes? Like why people are mad or why people get upset?" Shino asked gently.  
"Yeah…"  
"Well, you kind of have to know that stuff to survive in a pack. The social dynamic is very important and very delicate. Even normal people have a tough time…"  
"Oh…?"  
"Look, even if Naruto does take other subordinates, which he won't because Sasuke would kill him, that person would have it pretty rough. You wouldn't be happy. I spent last summer in Sand, with Gaara, I know ok?"  
"Is Gaara's pack complex?"  
"That is an understatement; even Gaara doesn't have the whole thing completely figured out. I mean…look at Gaara's subordinates! Hagane and Arashi fight all the time!" Shino argued vehemently.  
"Hagane and Arashi are from warring clans. Kakashi says that is why they fight." Sai muttered flatly.  
"That is part of it, they were both political marriages…sorta…Still, the fighting is also just…I don't know…how they communicate too. They are close in a way that you can't understand, Sai. You can't understand, because you have forgotten how to interpret emotions. I barely understand it. On the outside, from the way they act, you would think that Hagane and Arashi hate each other and Gaara, but that is just on the surface." Shino said, frustrated.  
"What do you mean?"  
"I mean…well…" Shino sighed, "The dynamic that they have together, is just…really…different. I say so because very few people understand how they relate. Gaara is good at ignoring people, and so Hagane baits Arashi to get a rise out of him, but it doesn't always work. If they argue too much, Gaara acts mad, but secretly he finds the whole thing sort of funny and titillating so it isn't really a big deal. Arashi has all kinds of issues and so if Gaara didn't act angry, he probably would start thinking that he didn't love him anymore or…something. I told you, it is confusing."  
"I guess so…"  
"The Fukakage of Wave brought her grandson, Mako, to try for a political marriage earlier this year. He's a super nice kid, I saw him briefly while I was there, very pretty. I met him because she has been bringing him to visit Sand almost every year since he was thirteen and even then he didn't adjust well." Shino said darkly.  
"What happened?" Sai asked, frowning a little now.  
"I heard he tried to kill himself. Why, you ask? Because of stress." Shino said tartly.  
"I wouldn't do that." Sai said, smiling.  
"I know. I know, but…it is really hard, Sai. Please believe me." Shino pleaded.  
"I do. I do believe you…"  
"But…"  
"But…I'm not sure if I care."  
OoOoOoO  
"I am not getting up at the fucking crack of dawn to watch the Hyuuga's kill each other! Come back to bed!" Sasuke growled.  
"Get dressed Sasuke."  
"Fuck you." He grumbled into the pillows.  
"Sakura is coming and I need you to protect her in case…in case I'm busy." Naruto said with a sigh.  
"Busy? What the hell do you mean?" Sasuke asked, cracking an eye suspiciously.  
"I told Hanabi Hyuuga…"  
"Wait!You told who?"  
"Hinata's little sister, I told her that I would step in and stop Neji if the match went too far. If Neji lost control or…" Naruto explained.  
"You…did…WHAT?" Sasuke roared, moving almost too quickly to see.  
In a blink, faster than a blink, Sasuke was staring down at him, face savage and fists clenched. Naruto sighed again, feeling tired. Sasuke's eyes blazed hot with the bloody sharingan swirl in his rage, glowing red in the near darkness. Naruto met his gaze and crossed his arms.  
"Sasuke…it's early and you are shouting…"  
"When the HELL did you talk to her?" Sasuke snarled.  
"The child came here last night…"  
"What…?"Sasuke hissed.  
"…and asked me to help her sister." Naruto finished stubbornly.  
"Hiashi Hyuuga's youngest daughter came here last night? Why didn't you WAKE me?"  
"She was just a scared kid, Sasuke…"  
"Wrong, baka! She is the Hyuuga second in line!"  
"She loves her sister and Hinata is my friend! I am not going to let Neji lose his shit and kill her in some kind of indignant rage! For BOTH their sakes, I would step in. Believe it!" Naruto growled.  
"Naruto! You…you…MORON!" Sasuke shouted, running his hands angrily through his dark hair. Naruto shrugged.  
"I doubt that it will come to that anyway. Neji only lost his temper the one time and they were so much younger then…"  
"It doesn't matter! If you step into Hyuuga family business you will give Hiashi the perfect excuse to bring war against us!"  
"What? For saving the life of his daughter?" Naruto asked, cocking an eyebrow.  
"Yes, damn it!" Sasuke shouted.  
"I refuse to sit back and let something horrible happen just for the sake of politics!"  
"Is it politics to put your own family first?" Sasuke snarled.  
"I DO put my family first! That does NOT mean I just cease to care about my friends!" Naruto railed, angry now.  
"Send Hinata a fruit basket in the hospital then!" Sasuke snapped.  
"Sasuke…" Naruto warned, fangs growing longer.  
"I don't care if the Hyuuga brats kill each other! It just means one less for them to send against US!" Sasuke shouted.  
"Hinata would never attack us! Things aren't just black and white!" Naruto yelled, his teeth and nails long and sharp.  
"This is, idiot! You are too naïve!"  
"And you are too paranoid!"  
"Moron!"  
"Bastard!"  
"Baka!"  
"Jerk!"  
"Asshole!"  
"Get DRESSED, teme!"  
"Fuck you dobe!"  
"I'll thrall you if I have to!"  
"Damn it! You PISS ME OFF!"  
"Are you two fighting again?" Sakura asked, stepping into the bedroom with a yawn.  
She was dressed in a traditional kimono of the Uzumaki livery, resplendent in the black and orange of the new clan. The orange whirl designs stood out from the black silk and she wore an orange sash with fringes long enough to almost brush the floor. The image she struck was regal and proud, the garb of a true matriarch. Her long pink hair was woven into a swaying braid down her back, pulled tightly back from her face in a simple, martial style. The girl surveyed her husbands with an expression of affectionate disapproval, lips quirked up on one side in a hint of humor. Naruto noticed, too, that she wore the high silver bracers with the Uzumaki whirl design of the clan on both wrists. The metal, though thin, was heavy and Sakura did not wear them casually. She was dressed to intimidate, to establish the power of their house. Sasuke groaned.  
"Please tell me you do not agree with our idiot?" He pleaded. Sakura arched an eyebrow.  
"Sasuke, if you think I am going to sit idly by and let two of my dearest friends kill each other over misplaced filial piety, you are wrong. Neji would never forgive himself if that happened and Hinata, well, I protect my friends." Sakura said, her green eyes sharp.  
"This is suicidal, I hope you both realize that. This is going to turn into a disaster!" Sasuke spat sourly, moving to grab his livery out of the trunk.  
"We are ninja, ya know! Disaster is sometimes in the job description!" Naruto said smiling. Sasuke rolled his eyes.  
"The Hyuuga are not going to take this lightly…" He warned. Sakura crossed her arms, green eyes becoming stormy.  
"I love how you two have already just decided that Hinata is going to lose! The match has not even started!" she railed.  
"Sweetheart, Neji is one of the strongest ninja in the entire country…" Naruto hedged.  
"He may be, but she is stronger." Sakura asserted.  
"You do remember that it took five jounin to pull him off of her last time they dueled and she almost died anyway. Your faith in her is stupid." Sasuke said darkly, pulling on his kimono.  
"Just because Hinata is not the kind of person to fight at her limits merely to prove that she is the best does NOT mean that she's weak. She will crush him. You'll see." Sakura replied.  
"I hope you are right…" Sasuke whispered angrily as he dressed.  
"I am."  
"We need to leave. Necessary or not, we are going to support her." Naruto said firmly.  
"Baka…"  
"I'm ready." Sakura said coming to kiss him.  
"I see that." Naruto smirked.  
"You will both regret this!" Sasuke snapped.  
"Hurry up!" Naruto called over his shoulder.  
"Damn it." Sasuke groaned, the argument well and truly lost.  
OoOoOoO  
"You are not fighting Neji. I forbid it." Hiashi said firmly, arms crossed across his chest.  
"It is nearly dawn, Father. Leave me to prepare." Hinata replied softly as she pulled on her arm guards.  
The girl had braided her long black hair into a tight weave down her back. Hinata was not taking any chances and wore as much armor as she could easily move in. Speed would not be as important as being able to withstand hits. Her logic made Kiba anxious, but he had agreed with her assessment of the risks. Fighting Neji was not about showing off, but about beating a ninja with skills superior to her own. The match would be one of wits in the end, wits and endurance. She was nervous, but Hinata made her heartbeat slow and her breathing calm. Calm was the key. She had a strategy and though beating Neji was difficult, she knew the task was not impossible. Cousin would fight her with everything he had and so, simply, she must do the same. The thought of hurting him made her sad, but Neji would not hesitate; her father had beaten all the hesitation out of him long ago. Her father had made done all he could to make Neji into a mindless drone, a deadly weapon that Hiashi could wield at his disposal. He had used Neji's natural determination and righteous spirit, twisting it until the boy became hard and bitter, a self-proclaimed slave of fate. Naruto had saved him once, but Neji was still brutally loyal to Hiashi, obeying him without thought. Even now, he was loyal at the cost of his decency and, she knew, such blind obedience would one day cost her cousin his life.  
Hinata took a breath and then another. She could not marry Neji. If she did, then she would share his shackles and lose so much more than her freedom. She thought about the conversations she had had with Kiba before, they had talked about the match so many times. All the Inuzukas believed in using instinct, but even he knew that would not be enough. Their pillow talk had been battle strategy for almost two years, the plan for the duel revised in the heat of making love. Both of them knew that the match would be the only way to stay together. Hinata had lost her temper with Neji yesterday, but in a way Cousin was right. They had run out of time and so she could no longer delay the challenge. Kiba's words rang strong in her head.  
Hurt him Hina! He would do the same to you! Bait him and defend, again and again, get him to lose his temper. Like a badgered dog, he'll start to lose focus and just react…  
"You would rather disgrace us all with this scandal! Just to marry that…that…mutt?" Hiashi growled angrily.  
"He is as fine a husband as any." Hinata said, her voice very soft.  
"Your cousin is ten times the man he is and a Hyuuga besides! He will make the bloodline strong! He will be a strong leader for us, the kind of leader you will never be, Hina!" Hiashi argued.  
"Perhaps…but I do not love him."  
"Love comes with time, child. I did not love your mother when we married and we too were cousins. Things were awkward for a while, but it gets better…" Hiashi said kindly.  
"Does it?" She asked, thinking of Kiba.  
I love you Hina. You are the kind of leader every clan would kill for! Your father believes you are weak because he only knows how to use fear to lead. A beaten dog is a broken thing. You and I both know a leader cannot compel love with cruelty…  
"Hina, don't be belligerent." Hiashi said, scowling.  
"Mother barely speaks to you."  
"She speaks when she wants to."  
"Of course she does." Hinata muttered, checking the edge of her kunai.  
Don't use the Byakugan, Neji has mastered that technique far better than you. He is practically obsessed with it! Use it against him. Use taijitsu, use bombs, anything to distract him. He has come to rely on Byakugan too much. Make him follow multiple targets. Force him to use energy until he is weak. Force him to burn through his chakra, tire him out…  
"This is not just about your worthless feelings Hinata! This foolishness may well cost you the leadership of our clan!" Hiashi threatened.  
"Just because you do not understand my feelings, does not make them worthless." Hinata replied.  
"Why you choose that filthy mongrel over Neji I will never know! Your cousin deserves this marriage! By marrying you, he can finally be a part of the main house! You would deny him that? Deny him the opportunity he has worked so long to achieve?" Hiashi asked.  
"Being a member of the main house is not as desirable as he thinks."  
Use fire and air. Even if the attacks are small, it doesn't matter! Distract him, just like Sakura did. That was how she beat him, she forced him to focus on too many things at once. Take your time and wait for it, you'll see it, when he drops his guard. Wait and let him get too confident…  
"You shame me daughter.'  
"And you me Father. I know about what you did." She hissed, almost silently.  
"What are you talking about? That Inuzuka has filled your head with lies…"  
Kill me if I ever lie to you Hina, I don't want to live with that. I would rather die than bring you any pain, any shame. I swear, I ain't smart or fancy, but you know I couldn't lie to you…  
"No. Kiba tells me the truth, always. It is you who lie. I know you tried to have Naruto killed…"  
"The business of running our clan is more complicated than you know. Don't talk about things you don't understand." Hiashi said sternly.  
"I understand, Father, that you fear anything that does not follow your rules."  
"My rules protect us."  
Fight him Hina! Crush him! I know you can do it! It will be simple…  
"You fear him and you should. Goodbye, Father. Either way, you will be rid of one last disappointment." Hinata whispered.  
…just win.  
Without a pause, the Hyuuga princess turned on her heel and strode towards the opening of the arena. She never stopped, never looked back. For once in her life, Hinata felt the tightness in her soul relax. For once she was sure, sure that she was doing the right thing.  
Fight him and exhaust him. Survive, baby, come back to me. Survive...


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura is a healer and she may be the only one who can prevent a tragedy.

There has been much debate among scholars on the issue of what the Jinchuuriki thrall actually is. Most believe the thrall to be a kind of energetic link among pack members that allows the alpha almost omnipotent control of his or her subordinates. This explanation is, however, far too simplistic. From my own observations, I have come to believe that the thrall may differ in nature and purpose for male and female Jinchuuriki. The female pack members of a female Jinchuuriki have been said to describe the thrall as a feeling of deep connectedness with their alpha. When she exerts control, they are no more than puppets to her commanding presence. In a sense, the female jinchuuriki briefly possesses her subordinates through the link they share. Some have even argued that the female alpha can see through her pack's eyes and speak through their lips from great distances. The subordinates of male Jinchuuriki, however, describe the control of the thrall as akin to an irresistible urge followed by a reward of deep mental pleasure when the command is satisfied. While there is, at least in theory, opportunity for disobedience, the action is in opposition to every instinct the subordinate has. To resist the thrall is to ignore a powerful, instinctual desire that the subordinate has linked to unspeakable psychic pleasure. In a sense, the male lovers of a male Jinchuuriki become addicted to the feeling of his control.  
Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons  
Kiba Inuzuka sat beside his sister in the stands of the arena, trying not to look nervous. Dawn had not yet broken and the air was very cold, a prelude to the coming fall season. Akamaru whined softly beside him, the pony sized dog obviously agitated, his great ears pricked and searching for Hinata. Kiba raised his nose to the wind, but did not smell her. Hinata was likely still below in the rooms beneath the arena, dressing and probably praying… He sighed and the great dog beside him whimpered, pushing his head against his hip warmly. Akamaru liked Hinata. Everyone liked her. Kiba gently stroked the great dog's head gently, moving his fingers in soothing circles around his ears. Akamaru whined in pleasure at the petting, but his ears remained cocked towards the arena in nervous attention. Though he tried not to show it, Kiba felt the same way, his worry for her making his belly tense. Hinata was risking much for him, her very life, and though he had tried to discourage her from the match, the girl had chosen to fight. Nothing Kiba had said would change her mind. He had talked for hours, trying one argument after another, but she had only smiled softly and prepared for the fight ahead. He smiled. In her quiet and very gentle way, Hinata Hyuuga was an unstoppable force, afraid of nothing. Her kind fearlessness had even won over his volatile and terrifying mother as well as his brilliant sister. His family had welcomed her, delighted by her gentle sweetness and gorgeous manners. The entire Inuzuka clan was arranged behind him, eagerly awaiting the match and the triumph of Kiba's bride.  
Even Kiba's grandmother was in fine form, the long fur of her matriarchal robes fluttering in the chilly wind, her lined face proud and placid. The fact that the matriarch herself, especially of clan Inuzuka, had come was a clear indication of the severity of the match. The Inuzuka clan had always been almost wholly ruled by women and Granny's presence meant that she had made this match clan business. Kiba knew that the old lady favored Hinata, but he also knew she wanted the political power that an alliance to Hyuuga would bring. Granny was politically minded, as was his sister Hana. The match meant much to them, an alliance and truce…or possible clan war. Kiba shivered. He loved Hinata, but he had no delusions about what a clan war with Hyuuga would be like. Many would die.  
If Hinata won, there was a strong possibility that Kiba would leave his house to marry her. In a strong sense, the Hyuugas would see him as her hostage as much as a spouse. He would be the assurance of continued alliance between the two families. The thought made him anxious, but if it meant he could marry her…well…he could survive anything. Even life chained within the creepy, quiet gardens of the Hyuuga compound would be infinitely better than life free without her. Hinata was the heiress of the Hyuuga clan, while Kiba's claim to leadership was second to that of his sister. Unless old Hiashi decided to cede the birthright to Hanabi instead, Hinata would become matriarch of the Hyuugas. A powerful marriage and his family approved, even if Hiashi preferred to give her away to her icy cousin. The thought made Kiba angry, VERY angry. He growled under his breath and Akamaru raised an inquisitive ear in askance. He patted the dog comfortingly, but Kiba's mind was still roiling with worry and rage. The Inuzuka stood, peering into the darkened stadium, searching again for his lover.  
"Kiba! Relax! You shame your woman looking so damn worried!" Granny Inuzuka snapped.  
"Shut it Granny! I just wanna see her when she comes out!" Kiba shouted back.  
"Respect your elders!" The old lady railed, shaking her well-polished walking staff menacingly. Kiba rolled his eyes.  
"I ain't worried, okay?" Kiba snarled.  
"Then act like it! You aren't gonna cut it in the Hyuuga household acting like that! That lot, they can smellweakness!" Granny nagged.  
"I AIN'T weak Granny and they don't smell anything!" Kiba snapped.  
"Smell or see with the Byukagan, it is all the same." Granny said superiorly.  
"Yeah, right…" Kiba muttered unhappily.  
"Sit down and act like a man!" Granny ordered gruffly. Kiba was about to respond when his sister interrupted.  
"There's clan Uzumaki! I didn't know they had any interest in this…" Hana said, gesturing to where Naruto and his pack were entering the arena.  
Kiba watched as Naruto waved and moved to sit close to him in the front row. All of them were wearing the dramatic orange and black livery of their newly established household. The design of the clothing was striking, almost garish, like an animal advertising to the world that it was poisonous. Kiba knew, at least in this case, that the reference was no idle boast. Hinata said that her father was deathly afraid of Uzumaki and the power they wielded in Konoha. Even with only a passing knowledge of clan intrigue, Kiba could see why. He had fought against Naruto and the blond jinchuuriki, for all his soft-hearted awkwardness, had only gotten stronger. He had fought against Sasuke too and had no wish to repeat the experience. Of the two of them, the one who was supposed to be a demon was a kinder opponent.  
"Hi Kiba! Whew, whole family is here, huh!" Naruto gushed excitedly.  
"Yeah…everyone is cheering for Hinata." Kiba said, smiling at his friend.  
"Awesome! I feel bad for poor Neji already!" Naruto crowed. Kiba grinned wider, feeling the tension melt from his shoulders.  
"How are you holding up, Kiba? All this has to be kind of hard for you." Sakura whispered kindly, smiling softly.  
"Ok…I guess a little nervous…just a bit…" He replied with a shrug.  
"Kiba! Introduce me to their matriarch!" Granny railed.  
Naruto flinched, looking with wide eyed surprise up at the old woman in her furs. Granny smiled at him, nodding her head in greeting, but not offering a bow. Kiba groaned. Granny would only show her full respect to the female leader of their clan; it was Inuzuka custom. The stupid practice was also probably one of the reasons why Hiashi Hyuuga hated their family so much. As it was, Naruto smiled toothily, his hand held behind his head in a characteristic gesture of uncomfortable social confusion. Naruto had always done that when he felt out of place. The gesture was familiar and almost made kiba smile out of pure nostalgia. Sasuke stood behind the blond like a menacing shadow. The Uchiha's eyes narrowed at Granny, but Sasuke had the good sense to keep his mouth shut.  
"Sakura-chan, this is Granny. She is our matriarch." Kiba said grumpily, gesturing to where his grandmother sat in a tiny, furious looking mass of fur and finery.  
"An honor to meet you," Sakura replied, bowing deeply.  
"And you my girl! A pleasure to meet the famed Uzumaki surgeon at last! You are dressed for power today! Good! You realize the importance of clan appearances I see!" Granny said, bowing low and smiling. Sakura blushed.  
"I…I am trying." She replied.  
"Yes, well, if my grandson tried half as hard, perhaps Hyuuga would not have objected to the marriage so noisily." Granny remarked dryly.  
"Granny!" Kiba yelped.  
"Kiba's great love for Hinata is evidence enough," Sakura replied, still blushing.  
"Humph…he has no sense of decorum…" Granny grumbled.  
"Neither does Naruto, but we manage to retain our dignity." Sasuke added sourly.  
"Hey!" Naruto shouted indignantly.  
"Hmmmm…You're the one aren't you." Granny said quietly, her voice rough.  
She squinted her keen brown eyes, studying Sasuke with intense scrutiny. For a moment there was utter silence. The raven haired ninja crossed his arms and bared his teeth at her and Kiba only managed not to attack him by the thinnest margin. Naruto laughed too loudly and tried to step in front of Sasuke without looking too obvious.  
"Don't worry Granny. Naruto keeps that thing on a short leash." Kiba spat. Sasuke scowled black daggers at him.  
"Fortunately for you…" The once Uchiha snarled.  
"Sasuke!" Naruto hissed.  
The raven haired ninja scowled, but shoved his hands into the sleeves of his robe and said nothing more. Sakura moved to rest a comforting hand on his shoulder. Sasuke's expression never relaxed from the dark scowl, but he covered Sakura's hand with his own. Kiba snorted and wondered if Sasuke even had another expression. Naruto sighed, smiling awkwardly.  
"Yes. I know of you, Sasuke Uzumaki. You killed my little brother, whom I loved…He was a very good man." Granny said quietly.  
"So you say." Sasuke muttered darkly.  
"Sasuke…" Sakura chided softly.  
"Ah! Um…Inuzuka-sama…" Naruto began, looking panicked.  
"Pity you failed to kill my uncle instead. He died the summer before your campaign against the council began. My brother took his place. Uncle was obsessed with power and was once sadistic to my daughter when she was a child. I believe you truly intended to kill him instead and so…I can forgive you." Granny said, finishing with a smile that showed her long, sharp teeth. Kiba felt like he might pass out from shock.  
"Granny! What…why? How could you!" Kiba shouted.  
"Enough hurt has already been wrought, Kiba, holding grudges is stupid…I said SIT DOWN!" Granny shouted.  
Kiba sat down with a huff, glaring murder at Sasuke. The darksome killer was not paying attention to him, however. His black eyes were wide and filled with confusion, staring at Granny. Naruto kept looking from one to the other, his expression utterly lost and mildly frantic. Granny nodded to him, the movement barely perceptible. A small smile tugged at Sasuke's mouth and he nodded to the Inuzuka matriarch as well. Naruto watched the exchange, glancing at Kiba who shrugged. Sasuke yawned and moved to pat Naruto on the arm, the matter obviously at rest. Sakura giggled nervously, obviously relieved. With his usual easy smile Naruto shrugged and gently gestured his subordinate into a seat to his right, nodding his thanks to Granny. Kiba grumbled, feeling somehow left out of the whole exchange. He hated the times when Granny said so much without saying anything. Kiba was about to pull out a few kunai and re-sharpen them just to occupy his hands when Akamaru began barking. He looked up to see Hinata enter the arena looking calm and somber.  
"Kiba! There she is!" Hana shouted, pointing.  
"I see her, stupid!" He snapped.  
"Be nice." His sister chided, unperturbed.  
Hinata turned and bowed low before the gathered Inuzuka clan, smiling shyly as she caught sight of Naruto. The Inuzukas broke into a righteous chorus of howling, the sound of their cheering mingling with the ferocious barking of their many dogs. Above the din, Kiba could hear Hanabi shrieking high and excited, cheering for her sister from the other side of the arena. Kiba searched for her, finding her small, boisterous form easily amongst the still and somber Hyuugas. The other clan had gathered almost silently in the stands opposite the Inuzuka clan, sitting straight and stoic. Sasuke's hand crept to his sword, his sharingan eyes active and watchful. Hinata bowed formally to her family and received a formal bow in return.  
"Geez! They look pissed!" Naruto exclaimed to Sakura.  
"Hanabi doesn't." Sakura replied, waving to the girl.  
"Hanabi's a pretty good kid, for a brat." Kiba said with a small smile.  
"Hinata has caused a scandal by fighting in this duel. Her family is embarrassed." Sasuke explained quietly.  
"All this clan stuff is confusing! All the cloaks and daggers and spies…what a pain!" Naruto whined.  
"For once, idiot, we agree." Sasuke said, eyes scanning the shadowy edges of the arena.  
"Sasuke, once they are really going at it, I want you to watch her with the sharingan…" Naruto whispered.  
"What am I watching for, exactly?" Sasuke grumbled.  
"Watch her energy…make sure she doesn't fade away." Naruto said softly, his blue eyes fierce.  
"And…if she does?" Sasuke asked, worried.  
"What do you think you could do?" Kiba asked, his voice suddenly filled with desperate hope.  
"Whatever I have to. Don't worry! I don't just sit back and watch friends die, believe it." Naruto replied, smiling widely.  
"I…I owe you, man." Kiba whispered.  
"Hey! Take it easy! I haven't even done anything!" Naruto exclaimed, embarrassed.  
"Still…you are a great friend." Kiba said seriously.  
"He's a moron." Sasuke huffed, scowling.  
"He'd have to be to marry you." Kiba snarled.  
"Shhh…There's Neji." Sakura said.  
Neji Hyuuga moved into the arena with the feral grace of a hunting panther, his long hair stirring darkly in the chilly breeze. The Hyuuga ninja was dressed lightly compared to his cousin, wearing only the traditional pale kimono and black pants of his clan and a mesh shirt beneath it. His customary bandages had been wound around both hands and one leg, making his limbs look weirdly pale in the morning light. Neji's face was distant and impassive, as if he was watching everything from very far away, separate from the action about to unfold. He bowed to the gathered Hyuugas and moved to face Hinata, looking at her with the barest hint of a frown. His body was slim and graceful as he assumed a fighting posture and nodded to his cousin. The girl nodded back to him and moved into a lower fighting stance, her hands soft and relaxed.  
They remained that way for a breath and then another. Kiba fought not to move, to twitch, as the silent tension gathered like a thunderstorm in the arena. Hinata's face was calm, her silver eyes a match for those of her cousin as they watched each other. Kiba knew what she was doing, waiting for him to make the first move. Waiting was a smart strategy when it came to fighting Neji. Neji was a superb ninja, one of the best, in no small large part because he had the patience to wait for his opponents to make the first move. By staying defensive at first, Neji could use the Byukugan to anticipate a fighter's every attack and intention. Hinata waited, watching her cousin, hands resting in the air as the very wind held its breath. Sakura coughed softly. The Hyuuga cousins watched each other, neither blinking, waiting. Kiba wondered if Neji would ever move, if he would stand there forever, merely watching her. Then it happened, like a flash of lightening.  
Neji moved, almost too fast to see, a blur of white and silver and dark brown hair. He was faster than a striking serpent, faster than a bullet, the concussion of his movement booming softly as he struck. Hinata sprang away, retreating from his attack, throwing shuriken as she went. The blizzard of missiles struck sparks as Neji batted them away as easily as one would tiresome insects. He lunged after her, moving to strike again. She evaded him by the barest margin, spinning hard to the right. Neji pursued her relentlessly, landing a shattering hit against Hinata's shoulder. The girl dropped her weight in the same direction as the force of his contact, saving her bones from being broken, letting his momentum carry into the earth instead of her flesh. Now on her knees, Hinata spun, creating a whirlwind of dust. Neji moved behind her, preparing a choke, but Hinata was already gone, leaping high above the dusty cyclone she had created. The girl hurled kunai into the cloud, aiming for Neji's face. Again, he deflected them easily, but the weapons had bought her time. Hinata reclaimed her ground, re-establishing her stance. The projectiles had given her sore shoulder a brief respite so she could heal it with a quick infusion of chakra.  
She was allowed a breath, no more before Neji sent a volley of his own missiles against her. The girl deflected the weapons, sparks igniting off her arm guards. She sprang at Neji, launching a smoke bomb low and to the side as she struck a kunai hard against his cheek. Trying to follow two targets at once, he was slowed for a fraction of a second, but no longer. A thin line of blood appeared on his face. With a soft grunt, Neji grabbed her ankle and slammed her into the ground with a bone crunching crack. Hinata whimpered, but used the momentum to roll away, throwing another bomb into his face. Neji spun, clearing the air of the abrasive smoke with a whirling wind attack. The heavy burst of air almost rocked the girl from her feet, but Hinata dug a Kunai into the turf and maintained her stance in the face of the gale. Free of the smoke, Neji focused on her again, his silver gaze cold and analytical. She moved into a crouch as her cousin stalked forward once again.  
She moved to throw a missile, but he was already there, his fingers closed around her wrist. Hinata moved to sweep his feet out from beneath him, but Neji recovered too quickly, darting his fingers into the crux of her damaged shoulder. Like a striking snake, Neji snapped his hand against the joint and Hinata screamed. Kiba twitched, biting his lip. Naruto watched, his face fixed in a severe frown of concentration, as if by sheer focus he could help her.  
Hinata brought her elbow up into Neji's jaw, jarring him enough to escape. He hissed, rubbing the back of his hand across his lips, wiping away the blood. She threw an explosive tag and then another and the arena erupted in the flashing chaos of the charges. Neji dodged the bombs, moving fluidly, the flesh tight around his eyes as he activated the Byukugan. Hinata threw another kunai, following the weapon into Neji's guard. He struck the blade away, but caught Hinata's fist in the guts. Just as she had before, Neji moved with the force of the blow, letting himself roll away from Hinata's strike unharmed. He caught her again, slamming her roughly into the ground once more. This time, Hinata was not able to roll with the force of the attack and the breath was knocked from her lungs. She tried to writhe away, but Neji pinned her soundly to the turf. She thrashed as he crouched low, preparing to crush the air out of her chest and finish the match. She bucked hard beneath him, her forehead colliding soundly with his nose.  
Neji cursed, slapping her hard across the face. Hinata brought her knee into his guts as they grappled for control. She rolled, trying to straddle him, but Neji struck her in the chest and the sickening crack of breaking bone rang through the arena. Hinata screamed again, but never stopped moving, striking him fiercely in the face. Neji weathered the blow, rolling away from the attack. Hinata tried to squirm out of his grip, but he caught her by the hair. He brought his arm around her throat, preparing to choke her out. Despite the awkward position, Hinata fought him with renewed ferocity. Like a cornered animal, the girl snarled and turned to bite him savagely on the wrist. Neji growled angrily and brought his knee down onto her thigh, shattering the bone there as well. Hinata screamed, her voice raw with pain. Kiba wanted to look away, he didn't want to see him hurt her, but the Inuzuka kept his eyes riveted on the match even as tears streaked down his cheeks. She would win. She would survive, somehow…  
The arena was silent except for the sounds of the two fighters below. Neji tried to pin Hinata with his knees even as she shrieked and fought him, kicking hard. They fought, rolling in the dust, Hinata never stopping her attacks even as Neji countered and tried to grapple her into a hold. He pressed her, struggling to reach her arteries. She bit him, spat at him, clawed at his face.  
Something seemed to snap in his countenance and the distant expression Neji had worn for most of the fight gave way to a fierce and angry grimace. He forced her against his chest, wrenching her wounded shoulder from its socket. Hinata screamed shrilly, writhing in his grip, tearing a heavy lock of hair form his scalp. Neji hissed in pain and struck her jaw. He hit her again, his face twisted with rage.  
"Give, Hinata!" He roared.  
The girl said nothing, but dug her fingers into his neck, pressing the pressure point there savagely. Neji shrieked in pain and struck her again, cracking her head to the side painfully with the force of the blow. Hinata coughed wetly, her broken ribs finally evident as bloody sputum flecked her lips. He hit her again in the chest and Hinata no longer had the strength to avoid the blow. She groaned, but did not yield and he brought his elbow down hard into her shoulder. Naruto watched in horror, his posture tense. If not for Sasuke's hand on his thigh, he would have sprung up to help her long ago. Kiba took shuddering breaths through his teeth, his fingers tight in Akamaru's long, white fur. He could feel it. Every broken bone, every bruised nerve, Kiba felt as if it were his own. Hanabi sat silently in the stands, crying and flinching every time Hinata screamed. The fight dragged on as Neji struck her, trying to find an opening to choke her out. Hinata did not give him one, fighting with everything she had, heedless of the pain.  
Sasuke watched them, his mouth tight as the sharingan whirled and focused, watching her life force. Neji took hold of Hinata's hair, jerking her head hard as he dug his elbow into her throat. Hinata coughed and raked his eyes with her nails, but was obviously losing strength. Her face was un-recognizable, covered in blood and bruises. Snarling in frustration, Neji pressed his fingers into the bundle of nerves in her neck. The girl screamed and did not stop. Kiba bit through his lip and tasted blood. In his peripheral vision, the young Inuzuka saw Hiashi flinch and close his eyes, the coward. Hinata shrieked, still trying to fight him as Neji used his weight to pin her. Sakura vomited quietly behind Naruto's left shoulder, her face very pale.  
Neji was practically lying on Hinata, his hands scrabbling against the nerves in her throat, trying again to force her unconscious. For a moment Kiba thought he had succeeded and then Neji's angry, frustrated expression suddenly changed to one of utter shock. The fighters were suddenly terrifyingly still. Sasuke gasped, his expression filled with shock and consternation. Sasuke moved to stand, peering hard at the silent figures in the arena, red eyes whirling madly. Kiba's heart stopped in his chest. Hinata, was she…?  
Naruto stood, prepared to run down onto the turf and pull Hinata to safety. The Jinchuuriki crouched, ready to move but Sasuke gripped his arm, shaking his head. That same moment, Neji groaned and rolled to the side, revealing a kunai buried to the hilt in the center of his chest. The Hyuugas, as one, gasped in surprise. Hinata rose up onto her elbows, weakly raising her fist in victory.  
OoOoOoO  
"YEAH!" Kiba whooped, jumping high into the air.  
"Fine girl!" The Inuzuka matriarch shouted.  
"Sissy! You DID IT!" Hanabi shouted.  
Naruto closed his eyes in relief. Thank Kami, she had won. The Inuzuka clan erupted in applause, howling with joy. The barking of their dogs was deafening. Kiba was laughing victoriously, the tears still streaming from his eyes unheeded. Naruto smiled and gave him a high five. Kiba's grandma was on her feet, cheering wildly, the long fur of her robes flapping in the wind. Akamaru jumped high, setting his front paws against Kiba's shoulder, barking loudly. Kiba vaulted over the railing, rushing down to Hinata. Naruto let go the breath he had been holding. Sakura groaned a little, but smiled. Yet, despite the wild happiness around them, Naruto sensed immediately that something was not right. Beside him, Sasuke's body was still tight and vigilant. The once-Uchiha was half standing, tense and conflicted. Naruto could feel his lover's emotions like a roaring storm through the link, panicked and indecisive. Sasuke shot Naruto a hot, urgent glance, his eyes still whirling with the sharingan. Naruto followed his gaze and felt his belly fill with ice. His subordinate was not looking at Hinata…but at Neji.  
"Sasuke, what's wrong? Is it Neji? What is happening?" Naruto shouted over the din of the celebrating Inuzukas.  
"He's…dying." Sasuke whispered.  
"Oh shit!" Sakura exclaimed, moving to stand.  
"Oh Kami! Sakura! Help him!" Naruto shouted, but his mate was already running full out into the arena.  
Naruto felt his chest constrict. Neji was dying. The unstoppable Hyuuga who was almost his friend and he was dying, right there in front of them! Naruto darted down behind Sakura, Sasuke already moving like a flash beside him. The arena was crowded, with the Hyuuga's kneeling beside Neji and the Inuzuka's tending to Hinata's injuries. Sakura shoved her way through the throng, trying to reach Neji's side. One of the Hyuuga ninjas barred her way, drawing his blade threateningly. Naruto punched him soundly in the face, letting Sakura through. The girl threw herself down beside the too still form of Neji Hyuuga, trying to reach him.  
"Don't you TOUCH him!" Hiashi roared, appearing out of the throng in a rage, grabbing Sakura's wrist.  
"Release her or die." Sasuke hissed, his sword suddenly flush against Hiashi's throat.  
"Damn you Hiashi! He's DYING! She must have nicked his aorta! Let me help him!" Sakura shouted.  
"Please, father! She is an excellent doctor." Hanabi pleaded, coming close to hold the edge of her father's robes.  
"Get your hand off my mate!" Naruto shouted roughly, his teeth grown long and deadly.  
"I don't need your help!" Hiashi snarled.  
"Well, HE does! I can do the surgery, but we are running out of time…" Sakura urged.  
"Leave him alone! Oni bitch!" One of the other Hyuuga spat.  
"Call our wife a bitch again, and I'll make her a necklace out of your teeth." Sasuke promised the ninja who had spoken, his hands still steady against the sword on Hiashi's throat.  
"Keep your filthy hands away from my nephew!" Hiashi snarled. Sasuke growled and moved his sword threateningly against Hiashi's artery.  
"Don't be stupid, she's a surgeon!" Naruto argued.  
"Do you want him to live or NOT!" Sakura railed.  
"PLEASE! He's DYING!" Hanabi shrieked.  
Hiashi looked as if he wanted to argue, but the Hyuuga clan leader bit his lip and looked down at Neji instead. The young man was deathly pale and totally unconscious, blood pouring in pulsing gushes from the ragged wound in his chest. Naruto swallowed hard, trying to quell the rampant rage burning in his soul at the sight of Hiashi's hand on Sakura's wrist. Neji would die without Sakura's intervention and now was not a time when anger would gain anything, but the emotion was hard to restrain. Sasuke was apparently having the same reaction, breathing hard, mouth screwed into a ferocious snarl. Hiashi's expression twisted into a grimace almost like pain and he released Sakura's wrist, though the action obviously cost him. Naruto was disgusted by the other man's pride, but said nothing. The pink haired girl wasted no time, pulling an emergency surgical kit from one of her sleeves, dousing her hands hastily in iodine.  
"Do it. Save him." Hiashi whispered.  
"She will…if it isn't too late." Naruto growled softly.  
"Call off your subordinate." Hiashi hissed, gesturing to where Sasuke still stood poised to kill him.  
"I think I like him where he is." Naruto snarled, crossing his arms angrily.  
"Quiet!" Sakura ordered and Hiashi bit back his retort.  
Sakura tore the clothing away from Neji's wound, draping him hurriedly with sterile cloth. She soaked his skin with iodine, pouring the dark antiseptic generously over his chest. Once the area was as clean as she could manage in the situation, Sakura guided Hinata's weapon out of Neji's flesh. If the wound had bled badly before, it hemorrhaged horribly now. Sakura pushed her fingers into the opening, eyes closed, searching for the easiest route to reach the artery. She pulled a scalpel from her kit, cutting the flesh with quick, sure strokes. Hanabi covered her mouth with both hands, crying almost hysterically. Sakura worked her hand inside him, dissecting the tougher connective tissue away so she could reach the hemorrhage. Finally, Naruto saw a small, triumphant smile tug at her mouth. She had found it.  
The girl pinched the tear in the vessel closed and poured healing chakra into the seam. Once the bleeding was staunched, Sakura quickly threaded a sterile suture needle into a pair of clamps and quickly stitched the muscular artery closed. She worked fast, her hands sure and graceful, reinforcing the closure before the pressure could find the weakness in the vessel and rupture again. Once she was satisfied that Neji's aorta was secure for the moment, Sakura whipped a few thick sutures through the opening in his flesh, closing the wound.  
"He has a pneumothorax and needs blood. Call the hospital." Sakura ordered.  
"Already done. They are arriving even now." Hanabi said.  
"Good. Call them again and tell them to have surgical theater B ready for me." Sakura ordered, wiping her brow.  
"Will he live?" Hiashi asked softly.  
"If I can re-inflate his lung, and he doesn't die of sepsis or blood loss…yes, I expect him to live." Sakura said and turned away to meet the medics rushing into the arena.  
The medics swarmed around Neji, securing him to a stretcher and starting IVs of both fluids and packed red cells. Thankfully, Hanabi must have told them to bring blood. Sakura moved to follow the horde of medical professionals off the field, removing her formal outer robe as she went. Sasuke tentatively released Hiashi from the threat of his blade and followed her, taking the robe from her as they walked. Naruto spared Hiashi one last glare, before moving to follow his wife.  
"I will go with them and finish the surgery. We have to move quickly if we want to save his organs." Sakura said, almost jogging beside Neji's stretcher.  
"Do what you can, love. He doesn't deserve to die this way." Naruto said, squeezing her shoulder.  
"I'll go with you." Sasuke said. Sakura smiled, but shook her head.  
"Only as far as the hospital, Sasuke. No one will try to kill me there." Sakura smiled into his mutinous expression, "You can't come into surgery and I will be busy a long time with this. I may be home very late tonight."  
"Do what you have to. We will be waiting." Naruto said, resting a hand on Sasuke's shoulder.  
"Fine." Sasuke said quietly, though it was obvious the situation did not make him happy.  
"Prep him on route and get me imaging on arrival." Sakura ordered as she followed the medics out and towards the hospital.  
OoOoOoO  
Sakura watched the read out of Neji's vital signs anxiously. His heartbeat was regular and strong, but his blood pressure was still very low. She worried that it might be the early stages of sepsis and as weak as he was, infection would kill him. He had managed decently while she attached the surgical mesh over the laceration in his aorta, making the vessel wall strong again. She used a tight network of dissolvable stitches to secure the mesh over the vessel and was convinced that the bleeding had been stopped. Neji had not crashed out when she suctioned the blood out of his chest and abdominal cavity or when she applied negative pressure to re-inflate his collapsed lung. Still, his blood pressure was not recovering and continued to slowly grow weaker as shock fully set in. In the next room, Shizune worked on setting and mending Hinata's bones, but the Hyuuga heiress was already awake and asking about Neji. Sakura wanted to give her good news and assuage her conscience, but the truth was the Neji's life was still hanging in the balance. She had to stabilize him before anything else could be done.  
"I want two more units of blood and an epinephrine drip." Sakura ordered.  
"Is he still bleeding?" Her nurse asked.  
"Not that I can tell, but I need to get his BP up and fast or his kidneys could fail. What is his temperature?" Sakura asked, trying to keep the tension out of her voice.  
"99.6 degrees."  
"Hmmm, that's a little high, but might not mean anything other than that his body is trying to respond to the blood infusions…" Sakura mused.  
"You think he might be going septic?" The nurse asked.  
"I hope not. Get me a culture of his blood anyway and start a broad spectrum antibiotic. Use cipro." Sakura ordered, reading Neji's vital signs again.  
"We…could try a direct chakra transfer." One of the techs suggested.  
"That is a very dangerous procedure and we don't have an appropriate donor." Sakura replied.  
"What about Hiashi?"  
"Hiashi is a clan head. Even if he wanted to, the clan might object to the risk." Sakura said angrily.  
"Well…What about his friends?"  
"Tenten is away on a mission and Lee is still recovering from that arrow he took a month ago. Kiba is almost certainly incompatible, even if he would agree. As far as I know, Neji doesn't have any other family or close friends…" Sakura said, frustrated.  
There was silence from her staff for a long moment. Sakura sighed, knowing that they had someone in mind, someone they weren't sure she would approve of. Even with an appropriate donor, the procedure was difficult. Only Tsunade and a few others had successfully achieved proper healing without losing either the donor or the patient. Sharing chakra that way just wasn't natural…unless… Sakura bit her lip. No. She wouldn't do it. Not for Neji, not for anyone. The surgeon checked the read outs again, but the blood didn't seem to be helping. He was going shocky and Neji's organs were coming close to being at serious risk of ischemic injury. She practically growled.  
"Who is it?" Sakura asked quietly.  
"Well…chakra transfer doesn't really work, not with normal ninja…but…" The nurse said tentatively.  
"But…" Sakura challenged, already knowing what she would say.  
"But…a Jinchuuriki can do it." The nurse practically whispered.  
"Naruto." Sakura said, her voice icy.  
"Doctor, it makes sense. Naruto is one of Neji's friends, at least peripherally anyway, and he is one of the few people who could actually do it." The nurse pushed.  
"That is not an option." Sakura growled.  
"Shouldn't you let your husband decide that?" The tech asked, crossing his arms.  
"I am NOT going to do it! He is my husband!" Sakura argued.  
"This patient is dying…"  
"That isn't Naruto's fault!" Sakura protested.  
"No, but it will be yours if you don't even ask! We can still save him!" Her nurse spat.  
Sakura was quiet for a very long time. The worst part was that she knew, deep down, that if the person in question was Gaara or Killer Bee or ANY other Jinchuuriki, she would ask. No. She would beg. Beg because her patient was dying and because she knew that it could be done. Sakura wasn't a brilliant surgeon because she hesitated to perform risky procedures, she was confident in her skills. She sighed, feeling cold and stressed. That Naruto would do it, she had no doubt. Naruto was fiercely loyal to his friends, even the ones he had only learned to like in passing.  
"Call him. Tell Naruto the situation, be clear about the risks, and let him decide. Call Tsunade, we will need her for this." Sakura said tonelessly.  
"But…the Jinchuuriki hasn't even agreed yet."  
"Just call her and prepare for the procedure." Sakura said, looking at Neji's still face, "Don't you dare die now."  
OoOoOoO  
"You're worrying…" Naruto accused as he bit gently into the flesh of Sasuke's pectoral muscles.  
"I…I..am…a little." Sasuke confessed as he panted hotly in Naruto's embrace.  
Naruto paused, looking down into Sasuke's flushed face. His subordinate was breathing heavily and quivering beneath him, but his coal dark eyes were distant and filled with concern. Sasuke bit his lower lip, a gesture that Naruto almost always found fetching, and looked away. The Jinchuuriki studied him, deciding that being parted from Sakura was affecting Sasuke more than he had originally thought. The other ninja was worrying about her and, though he didn't know why, he knew that Sasuke would chew on the thought until he drove himself crazy. Naruto bent low, nuzzling the raven's throat, savoring the way Sasuke moaned and yielded to him.  
"She will be fine. I can feel her even now." Naruto purred against the porcelain flesh.  
"What does she feel like?" Sasuke asked breathily, still fighting the sensation.  
"Hmmm…frustrated actually. I suppose when she gets home I'll fuck it out of her just like I'm about to fuck it out of you..." Naruto chuckled hotly.  
"By Kami dobe! You have a filthy mouth…" Sasuke sneered.  
"It will be dirtier before we're done, believe it." Naruto promised, licking Sasuke's nipple suggestively.  
The dark haired ninja, ever sensitive to erotic touch, cried out as the jinchuuriki sucked the hardened point into his mouth. Naruto took his time, running his tongue softly around the areola and flicking the tip, trying to drive the anxiety out of Sasuke through sheer force of sensation. When Sasuke's cries took on almost pained urgency, Naruto shifted his attention to the other nipple. He liked the way Sasuke moved against him, the way the other man dug his nails heedlessly into his hips. Soon, Sasuke would only be thinking of how it felt as his alpha loved him, the delicate fear that came with penetration and the fierce pleasure of release. The jinchuuriki knew because he felt his lover's emotions through the link almost as clearly as he felt his own. The experience was one that he had never been able to imagine before claiming his mates. Naruto knew that even if a thousand years passed, he would never get enough of his subordinate or his wife, not ever. Sex without Sakura was odd and a little forced, but something told him that Sasuke needed the attention and desperately.  
The dark haired ninja had been emotionally vigilant, held tense like a taught bow, for too long. Sasuke was a suspicious person and the trait often served him well, but the trade-off was that he only really relaxed when Naruto forced him to. The paranoia that was a fundamental part of his personality was slowly overwhelming him. Sometimes Naruto wondered if the suspicion was a subtle part of his breeding as the trait definitely made Sasuke a better ninja, if a more unhappy person. The jinchuuriki loved Sasuke and privately hoped that the Uchihas might have loved their child enough not to intentionally breed him into a nervous wreck simply for the sake of ninja perfection. As for physical perfection, well, art was still art…  
Sasuke was almost too beautiful, stunning in a way that mere mortals should never achieve. As Naruto ran his lips over the fine features of Sasuke's face, he was reminded again that his subordinate was, not only one of the most gorgeous men, but one of the most beautiful people in all of existence. The jinchuuriki sighed as he ran his hands over the firm, slender lines of Sasuke's waist, moving lower to stroke his hardening length. Sasuke whimpered, eyes shut tight, the dark lashes lovely against the alabaster planes of his cheeks. Naruto moved his right hand to capture Sasuke's wrist, thrusting his thumb against the palm, keeping Sasuke's hand open. Naruto kissed him, teasing with his tongue as he moved his fingers over the raven's awakening body. Sasuke was almost fully hard and the velvety texture of him made Naruto eager to touch the flesh with more than just his fingers.  
A prelude to his future intentions, Naruto took the fingers of Sasuke's captive hand gently into his teeth. The raven trembled against him, his moon lit flesh flushed in a ruddy stain that reached all the way down onto his chest. The jinchuuriki rumbled, aroused almost beyond the point of his control, and sucked the elegant digits wetly. Sasuke practically screamed, writhing against him wantonly in the undignified display of passion wrought only from the normally reserved ninja by careful seduction. Seeing Sasuke so unguarded was something Naruto lived for. The jinchuuriki felt hot wetness against his other hand and smoothed the warm pre-cum softly over the head of Sasuke's arousal. A choked cry escaped his lover's lips and Sasuke sunk his teeth hard into the muscles of Naruto's shoulder. Perhaps it was a token gesture of resistance or maybe just a way to keep from screaming again, but Naruto felt his blood ignite. He moaned and bit gently into the meaty part of the raven's hand. Another lover would have had problems bedding Sasuke safely, the man loved to bite and hard, but the action always aroused Naruto more than offended him. The feel of his subordinate's sharp teeth had almost become a form of communication between them, a way for Sasuke to let his alpha know he was ready.  
Now well coated with the raven's own pre-cum, Naruto moved his fingers lower finding the tight opening. The lubrication was minimal, but Naruto seriously doubted Sasuke would be willing to wait while he found something better. Sasuke shrieked in pained ecstasy as he felt Naruto slip a finger into his body. The opening was small and hot and almost painfully arousing. Naruto moaned and moved lower, releasing Sasuke's hand and finally taking his subordinate's hardened shaft into his mouth. The jinchuuriki lapped him, tasting musky salt and wanting more, as the other ninja arched his back off of their bed. Naruto stretched him, moving his finger in a tight circle, enjoying the velvety smoothness of Sasuke's most intimate flesh. His lover moaned, thrusting against the invading digit and Naruto eagerly added another. The jinchuuriki found the tender bundle of nerves deep inside and pressed, shocked and stimulated when Sasuke spread his legs, too far gone in the pleasure protect his dignity. Apparently, Sasuke needed the sex worse than Naruto had thought. The jinchuuriki hastily opened him, stretching the tight muscles as he massaged his subordinate's prostate.  
Sasuke shrieked and thrashed, his belly twitching with the force of the pleasure Naruto wrought inside him. The sight of him, sweaty and flushed, made Naruto ache with desire. He was tempted to rush, the allure of Sasuke's body almost too much to resist. The raven haired ninja's fingers were rough in his hair, demanding, and Naruto nipped his inner thigh sharply to remind him to be gentle. Finally, the intimate muscles were soft, the opening widened enough to receive him. With an almost desperate sigh, Naruto moved and pushed into the deadly dark haired beauty beneath him. Sasuke was hot, vulnerable, masculine and fantastic. He had moved once, deeply, and once more when there was a sharp knock at the door.  
"What!" Naruto practically barked.  
Sasuke bit his knuckles, mortified, dark eyes filled with angry embarrassment. Naruto soothed him with an affectionate nuzzle, but had to take a few breathes to keep the anger out of his voice. Whoever was on the other side of the door did not knock again.  
"What?" Naruto asked, a bit more gently.  
"Naruto-sama…I am sorry to disturb you…Neji Hyuuga is dying."  
OoOoOoO  
The circle had already been drawn, the silk cords tied like crimson spider webs around Neji's arms, ankles, wrists, legs and throat, and soaked in saltwater. If Sakura was able to direct the energy through the threads and into Neji's failing body, he would live, but if the chakra dissipated or jumped to another body… Sakure chewed her lip and ran a gloved hand over the ninja's pale, unconscious face. Neji was breathing softly and had not needed mechanical ventilation, but his heart had started to beat irregularly and she worried it would stop. Despite her best precautions, the wound had become septic. Neji's fever was now almost 102 degrees and his pulse was thready and weak, another few hours and he would be in full organ failure. Sakura knew he was strong, knew that the Hyuuga would easily pull out of the malaise given just a bit more energy. Neji had been the top of their class, a ninja of unrivaled skill and power. Everyone saw the fact that Naruto had defeated him in combat so many years ago as no less than some kind of miracle. Truly, a direct chakra transfer procedure, risky as it was, would be his best chance for recovery. His best chance was still slim.  
The arrangements were perfect, she had checked them three times, but Sakura still worried. If the meridians were misaligned or the solution unbalanced, the chakra donor could easily be thrown into full arrest. Naruto knew this, but had come anyway. He arrived looking sleepy and concerned and Sakura realized that she had seriously lost track of time and that the hour was actually very, very late. Naruto yawned as he walked into the operating theatre, followed closely by a feral looking Sasuke. He was dressed casually in a white t-shirt and somewhat ragged black pants, the jinchuuriki's usual indomitable smile firmly in place. The smile, Sakura knew, was his armor and she wished for the thousandth time that her husband had just said no. Neji was his friend and friends meant everything to Naruto, but the procedure might not even work. Naruto's involvement offered them a chance at least, but Neji's survival was still uncertain. As for Sasuke, he was dressed all in black with an attached mask covering the lower portion of his face. Even with fully half of his visage covered, the once-Uchiha still looked absolutely lethal. The set of his shoulders, the way his fingers stroked the hilt of his sword were all tiny tells that her dark haired husband was not in a good frame of mind. She sighed, Sasuke in a chilly rage was a complication she seriously did not need.  
Sakura could not be sure if he was angry because Naruto had chosen to risk his life for the nephew of a man Sasuke had come to view as an enemy or if something else had happened. Regardless, she quietly told her staff to give him a wide berth. Sasuke was upset, which made him twitchy, and she was told that one orderly had already been hauled away with broken fingers. She groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose where the headache was slowly spreading. Sasuke's mood, and who suffered because of it, was the least of her problems. Sakura had discussed the procedure with Tsunade, gone through the process again and again, but the Hokage worried that Naruto's chakra might not even be compatible. Giving energy wasn't like a blood transfusion, where proteins and antibodies could be measured so that a match was assured. The compatibility of donor and recipient had more to do with individual abilities and Naruto was very prominently a wind –type ninja, while Neji specialized in the esoteric somatic techniques of the Hyuuga clan. Techniques closely guarded and little understood by outsiders. Was wind, or the fire of the Kyuubi's spirit, compatible with the more mysterious energies that Neji had been bred to wield? Even worse, would the chakra signatures potentiate each other and tear both parties apart?  
"Whoa…that's…um…whoa." Naruto said, staring round eyed at where Neji lay on the hospital bed.  
Sakura tried to figure out what it was that had surprised him so much. Neji was looking peaked and awful but, still…She squinted. No one could deny that the Hyuuga was very beautiful, even on the cups of death. The scarlet cords around Neji's limbs contrasted in a strangely lovely way with his pale skin. There was something erotic in the limp spread of limbs bound tightly with the red silk, something a bit titillating in the way Neji's face was flushed with fever. Of course, Naruto might have been referring to the fact that the other ninja was mostly naked. Sakura rolled her eyes, but also began blushing herself.  
"It's just a medical apparatus." She said testily. Naruto blushed.  
"Right." He said, crossing his arms behind his head.  
"Naruto, try not to be a pervert." She groaned.  
"What? It's like something out of Master Jiraiya's books…or something. Hasn't anyone else around here noticed how he looks?" Naruto exclaimed, blushing pointing as if the idea should be obvious.  
"Most of us have been busy trying to save his life." Sakura snapped, green eyes hard.  
"Oh. Yeah." Naruto whispered, visibly deflating. Sakura immediately felt bad for getting angry.  
"Sorry, I'm tired." She whispered, moving to hug him.  
Naruto wrapped her in his arms and deep warmth spread through her back. She sighed. Safe in his arms, Sakura was finally able to access her emotions again. Even now, even without trying, it was so easy to become distant and forget what it was like to react emotionally. She could feel him smiling into her hair and knew she was forgiven. Sakura really should have expected his reaction, getting angry was stupid. After all, Naruto's rampant bisexual urges were part of what he was, part of what made the strange and wonderful creature she was married to so very special. She smiled and kissed his throat. In the hospital, her patients needed objectivity, but Sakura's feelings were still there. Like serpents writhing beneath the surface of her control, she could only lock them away for so long. She clung to him, letting the fear and the stress and the anger at howsenseless the whole stupid situation was crash through her. She sighed into his collar and it was almost a sob. Dammit. She wouldn't cry again, not now! Sakura bit her lip and tried to tamp down the tears. She felt another, cooler, set of fingers brush her cheek. Sasuke had come behind her, silent as a vapor, to wrap his arms around her. Held between them that way, the girl finally let herself come undone and found the strength to master her swirling thoughts again. When they separated, she felt powerful again, steady and confident. With a grateful smile she turned and pressed a chaste kiss onto the silk of Sasuke's mask.  
"I just hope that this works. Neji is a good guy and I…it just isn't fair." Naruto said, his voice slightly angry.  
"This is the best chance he has." Sakura said and motioned for Naruto to sit on the bed opposite Neji.  
"Dobe is right though, he does look totally indecent." Sasuke sneered haughtily, eyes narrowed above his mask.  
"Be nice Sasuke." Sakura chided.  
"Where's Hiashi?" Sasuke asked, still glaring at Neji.  
"Not here. I think he is ashamed of how he acted earlier. I guess that fact that I tried to help kind of took him by surprise." Sakura said with a shrug.  
Sasuke said nothing, but he made a noise almost like a growl and stalked out of the room to lean against the wall just outside the door. Sakura pitied any hapless Hyuuga who might have to be sent past that dark sentinel. The girl released a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding and began preparing Naruto for the procedure. Her husband giggled as she worked the solution-soaked cords around his wrists, smiling relentlessly.  
"Is it too cold?" She asked quietly.  
"It's fine. Stop worrying baby, this will work. Believe it." Naruto said and winked.  
Sakura smiled at him and tried. In the hall Sasuke had activated his sharingan, scanning both the hall and Naruto's body with long, meticulous gazes. Sakura was not sure what he was looking for, but she was glad to have the extra eyes on Naruto and the state of his chakra. The girl took a deep breath and nodded to her nurse.  
"Ok," She said after another few minutes, "I'm going to activate the jutsu."  
"Ok." Naruto said, shamelessly lounging on the hospital bed.  
"Ready, Doctor." The nurse affirmed.  
The girl pressed her hands together, summoning the energy from within herself to activate the jutsu. She made the flow of life clear of any entanglements, free of anything that might pollute the energy with her own personality. Neji would not tolerate a transfer involving multiple wielders; the chakra had to be pure. Sakura worked quickly, trying to achieve control while still retaining cognizance of her environment. Finally, it was ready. Glowing threads of green energy shot from her body, moving across the floor like water or lightning or both combined. The energy reacted with the circle, igniting it into a vast array of iridescent light, filling the air with the scent of grass and ozone. Sakura concentrated and extended the web of chakra out and through the silk cords on Neji's body. The saltwater conducted the chakra like a wire would electricity and the life force arched eagerly over his flesh. The Hyuuga ninja moaned softly as the chakra enfolded him, his heart rate spiking dangerously. Sakura grit her teeth and pulled back a fraction, controlling the sweeping energy, trying to direct it into Neji's flesh and praying he would be able to take it.  
Neji groaned, writhing, but gradually his vital signs stabilized. Sakura focused hard, folding the energy around him, into him, tucking it around the injury. Then the girl moved to Naruto, sending a swirling tongue of chakra out through the cords on his wrists. The jinchuuriki yelped in surprise, but managed not to move as she manipulated the energy.  
"Ok, Naruto, push against him. Try to push your chakra into him." Sakura instructed. Naruto blinked in confusion.  
"Like you did with us, idiot." Sasuke hissed from the doorway.  
"Oh."  
Understanding dawned on Naruto's face and the jinchuuriki grinned lasciviously. Suddenly the swirling energy around Sakura was not just green, but red too. Sakura's eyes widened in shocked appreciation of the perfect control Naruto had over such vast energies. Most ninja would have had to meditate for hours just to leak the barest bit of chakra into the circle and Naruto was able to release a veritable flood of his life force on command. No matter how he acted or how well he had learned to fit into other people's narrow minded expectations, Naruto was not human. He had stopped being human sometime before he even really achieved true consciousness. He pushed the chakra out of himself with such ease, moving the life force out into the air as if the act barely even required active effort. Naruto pushed and the room filled with the hot sensation of burning wind. The feel of it, hot and a bit possessive, made her blush as she directed the thick currents of chakra into Neji's body. The Hyuuga ninja gasped, struggling to breathe, but Sakura could not pull back now. Naruto's energy was too forceful, too vast for her to control aside fromm a nudge and minor pull to work the chakra into Neji's wounds. Naruto was changing, his face growing feral and his pupils narrow slits as the fox awoke with the call for chakra. The jinchuuriki gasped, whining a little in pain as the pull of the energy finally taxed him. Sakura nodded, satisfied that her husband was safe and motioned for the nurse to check Neji.  
The Hyuuga was breathing hard and shallowly, his heart irregular. She could tell that his body was fighting it, trying to resist the chakra instead of using the energy to heal. Sakura swore, trying to pull the scarlet chakra back a bit in order to find a balance of energy transfer that Neji could tolerate. Naruto was crouched like an animal on the bed, his long claws biting into the hospital sheets savagely. The jinchuuriki snapped his jaws, teeth long and menacing. Sakura's nurses paled and moved to huddle together at the far side of the room, terrified of the beast that the blond was slowly morphing into. The energy arched and spun, seeking a path against the resistance. Suddenly, Neji opened his eyes and screamed. The chakra moved, dove, through the cords and into the Hyuuga's body in a single fluid rush. Naruto hissed and swooned against the sheets. Neji screamed again and jerked hard, moving to writhe away. Moving in agonized reflex, the Hyuuga's body arched against the cords and Sakura saw one of them break. A bright surge of panic filled her gut.  
"Sedate him!" She shouted.  
"We can't! He's already sedated!" One of the nurses squeaked from where they were hiding.  
"Now dammit!" She snarled.  
"Any more and it will kill him!"  
"If Neji breaks any more of the leads then we could lose them both!" Sakura shouted.  
"I am TELLING you! Any more, and all of this will be for nothing!" Her nurse railed stubbornly.  
"Naruto! Pull back! Pull back!" Sakura shouted.  
"Ahhh…its hard…hard…" The jinchuuriki groaned.  
"You have to! He can't take it!" Sakura shrieked.  
Naruto made a frustrated noise of both pain and effort and the energy curling around them rippled violently. The chakra bucked like an enraged animal and Neji was shrieking in a tortured panic, yanking hard against the bonds holding the searing force against his body. Naruto grunted, pulling on his own scarlet silk, trying to pull back the chakra being forcibly sucked from his spirit. The scent of lightning and fire filled the room and the digital readout of Neji's ECG spiked dangerously. Sakura hissed, trying to will the energy into a more acceptable volume. Naruto roared, his flesh slick with sweat from the effort and the scarlet chakra became slimmer, calmer.  
The jinchuuriki shook with the effort of holding the energy back even as the apparatus called it forth from his body. Neji stilled a bit, quivering, awake but still mad with the pain. The Hyuuga groaned, slowly beginning to relax. His breathing became a little easier and his vital signs came back under control as Neji adapted to the foreign chakra, no longer drowning in the life force. Sakura sighed shakily in relief. She watched as Neji slowly began to accept the energy, his body moving with the pulsing waves instead of against them. Naruto winced, the effort written all over his face, but Neji was responding. The Hyuuga's heartbeat slowed, becoming steady and strong as the foreign energy filled his damaged cardiac meridians. The wound on his chest began to close, even as they watched, resolving into a smooth pink scar. Neji's blood pressure rose and he began to sweat, the fever no longer running rampant through his flesh.  
Naruto blew out a long breath, muscles trembling. Neji closed his eyes, made a sound almost like a moan and fell back into unconsciousness. Bit by bit, Sakura reduced her control over the energies, letting the flow settle into an organic rhythm of its own. Naruto was still slit-eyed with deep concentration, but for now it seemed that he was able to control the flow of chakra with relative ease. Sakura moved to brush the hair away from the Hyuuga's face and grinned. He was healing. Thank Kami, he was healing. Sakura laughed out loud, the heady feeling of victory chasing away the cold panic that had gripped her before. Naruto smiled, his long teeth making the gesture seem strange and a little wild.  
When she cut the cords and separated Neji from Naruto's chakra, there were healing burns on the Hyuuga's wrists and throat, but Neji was alive. Not only was he alive, but his coloring had returned and his pulse was strong and even. The Hyuuga slept easily, his muscles lose and relaxed as the nurses prepared to move him to a recovery room. Naruto managed to sit up while she untied the silk on his wrists, face beaming with triumph, yet sallow with fatigue. Sasuke entered the room, sparing Neji a single irritated glance as he rushed to grip Naruto by the shoulders. Sakura was glad for the help. Naruto was not hurt, but the draw of energy had been difficult, even for him, and the blond was obviously exhausted. Sasuke moved to hold him as Sakura checked Naruto's pulse and temperature. Both were normal and she breathed a sigh of relief as Sasuke brushed his lips tentatively against Naruto's arm.  
"It's ok Teme, I'm fine." Naruto panted.  
"Moron." Sasuke whispered and pressed his cheek against Naruto's sweat damp hair.  
Sakura used a cool cloth to sponge the perspiration off his face, checking her husband's hands anxiously for chakra burns. Finding none, the rose haired kunoichi sighed and finally felt the fatigue of the day catch up to her. Apparently, Naruto felt the same way. The jinchuuriki smiled, kissed her and promptly fell asleep in Sasuke's arms.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke struggles with the nightmares of his past and Neji with the loss of his present as he is made an unwilling sacrifice to Hiashi's scheming.

Pregnancy of the alpha female has a pronounced effect upon the subordinates of a Jinchuuriki pack, a phenomenon widely observed and, as of yet, poorly understood. Whether an effect of pheromones or an accessory effect of the Jinchuuriki's own emotion via the psychosomatic effects of the thrall, noticeable behavioral changes are widely recognized. While female subordinates often exhibit a marked increase in nurturing behavior and general agreeability, males are more socially problematic. Obsessively vigilant, the subordinates of a male Jinchuuriki sleep little and exhibit increasingly aggressive territorial behavior. The hyper-protective response of male subordinates is known as the "Fire Sleep" in some parts of the world and is largely understood to be a time of great uncertainty. Villagers mainly seek to avoid the holdings of Jinchuuriki and approach the female with care and delicacy, some even going as far as to leave offerings to her as peace tokens. The fire sleep is recognized by all as an un-ideal time for the addition of new members to the pack as violence among male subordinates is not uncommon.

Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons

Sasuke walked through the silent woods, the snow falling softly like a shroud around him, the gray of dawn barely painting the sky with light. Snow fell, covering the forest in a numbing white curtain, muffling all noises. Sasuke's breath plumed before him and he was trying to move quickly, but his leg seemed lost amongst the snow. He slipped, fell, rose and continued on. A deep and awful sense of urgency nagged at his soul, but he could only move one step, one step in a breath, so slow. The light was glowing purple in the east and with each agonizingly slow step, Sasuke felt as though the drifts were only dragging him down further. The snow was deep, chest deep now and moving through it was so slow, too slow. There was a clearing ahead and Sasuke groaned with the effort. He had to reach the place between the trees, he had to get there before…before… The trees arched, naked and dark towards the sky like mourners at a funeral as he moved, almost crawling, toward the place between the trees. The skeletal branches tortuous and sharp, dragged at his clothing. Sasuke struggled, snarling in frustration as he watched a cloud of black crows rise from the clearing. They wheeled, stark against the morning sky.

"No…" He whispered.

"Yes. Of course." Itachi said from behind him.

The elder Uchiha was dressed in his black and red Akatsuki robe, his long tail of ebony hair flowing languidly in the snow. The deadly red sharingan eyes were half lidded and lazy even as they bled crimson onto the pallor of his cheeks. Itachi rested on top of the snow, pointed chin cupped arrogantly in his palms, one black nail held idly between his teeth. Lovely and mad and malicious, he surveyed Sasuke with twisted fraternal affection.

"You killed them…No…" Sasuke gasped, choking back a desperate sob.

"I had to, brother, you loved them too much. You loved them more than you loved me, naughty…" Itachi chuckled, waging one black tipped finger haughtily in front of Sasuke's face.

"I…I'm sorry…please…Ni-san…don't do it." Sasuke sobbed, his eyes wet with tears and sticky with blood.

"It's better Sasuke, now you have your vengeance, that is what matters…" Itachi said, smiling darkly.

"I don't want it! It don't want it! Please! Stop! Don't hurt them!" Sasuke begged.

"Too late little brother, too late. Come and see, it's gorgeous…" Itachi purred.

Suddenly Sasuke knelt in the clearing, the crows wheeling around him, the corpses black and grey in the icy morning light. There was blood everywhere, old blood, frozen now. Naruto's body lay, broken and torn, bound in the leather straps used for a demon extraction. His wrists were broken, the bones puncturing the grey skin, sharp and ugly. His face had been partly eaten by the birds, mauled and gory red, his blue eyes white and rotting in death. Sasuke whimpered and felt a cold sweat break over his skin. Sakura lay draped over Naruto's body, she was naked and her lovely hair had all been hacked away for jealousy or pure malice, an act too awful to comprehend. Sasuke shook his head, terrified. Frozen blood long past flowing coated her belly. The baby, oh god, the baby! Sasuke choked, feeling hot and cold at once, eyes bleeding. There were bruises on her throat, on her breasts, on her hips…

"No!" Sasuke shrieked. Itachi laughed.

"You're too late. They never even knew you loved them." Itachi said triumphantly.

"Our baby…?" Sasuke whispered.

"Hmmm…food for crows." Itachi replied.

"No…you didn't…I…I…killed you!"

"You were too late…" Itachi laughed merrily, like they were playing a game.

"I HATE you!" Sasuke shouted.

"You love me! You have to! Too late little brother…too late…"

"No! No! Naruto! Sakura! Please! No! No! NO! NOOOOOOOOOO!" Sasuke screamed.

He shrieked and thrashed, screaming, but something was being held over his mouth. Panicked and terrified, Sasuke shrieked, scratched, bit, but the hand was steady over his lips. Steady, but not tight. The fingers were not cruel, not cold like Itachi's would be. The hand against his face was calloused, warm and very familiar.

"Shhhhh! Shhhh! It's okay, it's just a dream, Teme. Just a dream. Shhhh! You're okay!" Naruto whispered urgently, trying to soothe him.

Sasuke slowed his struggling, allowing his surroundings to come into focus. The room was very dark and he was shaking and sweaty and cold, his heart racing so fast that his chest hurt. Naruto's fingers were gentle over his mouth, the warmth of the jinchuuriki's skin close and real. Sasuke sobbed, shaking. Naruto shushed some more and kissed his hair. Sasuke inhaled a deep breath filled with the warm, musky scent of Naruto. The jinchuuriki held him, blue eyes bright and alive and only an inch from his own.

"Hmmm…Sasuke, are you okay love?" Sakura asked sleepily, resting a hand against his shoulder.

Sasuke could barely breathe for sobbing he was so relieved. They were alive! Both of them, alive! He shook and let Naruto hold him together, let Sakura stroke his skin and hum and comfort him. Her hands were so soft, how was it that any ninja's fingers could be so soft? Sasuke pressed a desperate kiss against Naruto's throat to hear his alpha rumble and everything was real.

"Go back to sleep, baby, I know you're tired." Naruto whispered to Sakura.

"M' not, not really…" She mumbled.

"Uh huh, sure. Sleep now. Sasuke and I are going to sit up awhile." Naruto said, but Sasuke was fairly sure that Sakura had already fallen back asleep. She was exhausted.

"Come on, Teme. Let's have a bath." Naruto whispered cheerfully.

Sasuke didn't say anything, he didn't have to. Naruto picked him up as easily as one would a satchel of vegetables and carried him out into the hall in a quivering heap of limbs and blankets. Sasuke was still sobbing softly and fighting the urge not to scream simply because all of it had seemed so real and for a moment he had thought, was convinced, that they were dead. Naruto was making gentle, rumbling noises under his breath and Sasuke felt his tense muscles begin to relax. By Kami, was he so weak? Sasuke shuddered. The jinchuuriki held him as one would a frightened child and for once Sasuke had no objection, letting himself be pressed against the warm muscle of Naruto's chest. Weakness and strength were meaningless, so long as he had them, so long as his mates were alive, he could survive. They walked towards the bath and Sasuke finally felt the chill of the snow from that day, now years ago, begin to ease.

OoOoOoO

Naruto brushed his lips over the flushed skin of Sasuke's shoulders, feeling the other tremble against him in the hot water. The bath was hot and misty, intimate in a way the room never was in day time. Even though Sasuke had shared his bed for nearly three years, seeing the raven haired ninja so obviously agitated was rare. Sasuke Uchiha was a hard person, in many ways too hard, and he kept pain private if he could. Now he sat uneasily against Naruto's chest, startling at every sound, fingers nervously twitching beneath the water for a weapon. The jinchuuriki had not asked about the nightmare, but he could guess its content. The worst dreams were about his brother, Itachi, the brother Sasuke could not decide if he loved or loathed. Kakashi had said once that it was equal parts of both. Even in death, Itachi punished Sasuke for…something, some unseen sin committed in childhood, if the crime even existed at all. Naruto sighed, feeling stressed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" The jinchuuriki offered.

"Fuck off." Sasuke hissed softly.

"Don't be mean." Naruto chided, kissing the tense flesh of Sasuke's shoulders once again.

There was a private understanding between the three of them, a truth both he and Sakura had come to accept long ago, that Sasuke's words meant almost nothing. When the raven felt vulnerable, or frightened or embarrassed or almost any powerful emotion, he usually expressed the feeling with cruelty and anger. Naruto knew that it was a kind of defense, like a dog beaten too often that will bite even when stroked. Because Sasuke's touch and breathing and posture spoke of fear, Naruto ignored the barbs and continued his gentle kisses. The dark haired man made a noise half between a sob and a sigh, moving to grip Naruto's knee beneath the water. Despite his words, the darksome ninja made no effort to move out of Naruto's grasp, instead leaning into the affection.

Sensing that he wouldn't resist, Naruto moved Sasuke fully onto his lap and began stroking his hands down the smooth alabaster planes of the other ninja's chest. Like most Konoha ninja, Sasuke had very little body hair and his chest was nude and very white in the dim lights of the bath. His nipples, dusky pink, were soft in the heat and Naruto gently stroked the edge of his thumb over the tender peaks. Sasuke moaned a little and arched against the touch. The beauty of him took Naruto's breath away and he only regretted that Sakura was too tired to join them. His mates were lovelier together, but Sasuke needed him now, needed his entire attention. Naruto set his teeth gently against the trembling pulse point of Sasuke's pale throat, feeling his body swell with arousal at the half choked sound of Sasuke's submission. Naruto moved his hands lower, circling the raven's still flaccid penis, stroking his testicles gently.

There was something so intense and erotic about having his subordinate alone this way, spread over his thighs, quiet and totally absorbed in the love play. Having to break down deep psychological walls of mistrust and insecurity was something the jinchuuriki had come to take for granted. Making love to Sasuke while the man actually concentrated his ever meticulous mind on the sex was wholly new. Naruto felt his breath catch as Sasuke began fully responding to his caresses. The dark haired ninja trembled, the sculpted muscles of his belly growing taught as his body hardened. Sasuke gasped, his nervous fingers finally settling like bands of steel around the jinchuuriki's wrists. Naruto sighed in satisfaction and continued to stroke him, feeling the rigid column of his arousal grow beneath the water. The sight, smell, feel of him was intoxicating. Naruto licked the sensitive place behind Sasuke's left ear, nipping gently along the crest, breathing hard.

To his utter shock, Sasuke reversed his grip on Naruto's arms and turned completely to face him. The blond had a moment to stare into the black depths of his lover's eyes before Sasuke was kissing him hungrily. For a breath and then another, there was only nails and teeth and the muscular clashing of fevered bodies against one another. Naruto gasped, taken aback by the raven's boldness, before Sasuke's tongue surged awkwardly into his mouth. Unused to the receptive position in their love play, Naruto struggled to return the kiss and not to choke. The position was strange, startling and almost too forceful. Although Sasuke was still straddling his hips, the raven's greater height gave him greater maneuverability, allowing him to trap Naruto within the cage of his arms. Despite the initial spike of pointedly uncomfortable emotion in his chest, the jinchuuriki tried to relax and allow Sasuke to express his needs. Obviously, tonight he needed both affection and control. They had been lovers for years, but Sasuke had never quite acted this way before. His subordinate was not one to initiate any kind of erotic action, preferring to be taken and at least given the pretense of dignified resistance. After a few more rough kisses, frantic with some unspoken urgency, Sasuke retreated a fraction.

"You are here, with me, and you want to be?" He asked softly.

"Yes…" Naruto replied, confused.

"Never leave me." Sasuke hissed, lunging in and biting his lower lip hard.

Naruto winced, but accepted the violence for what it was, a savage attempt at seduction. Under the raven's sharp teeth, his lip flared bright and hot with pain and bled generously. Sasuke bit when he no longer knew what else to do, when the sensual emotion overcame his experience. The pain usually excited Naruto and he often wondered if there was something fundamentally wrong with his own mind or if Sasuke's strange habits had somehow trained him into a masochist. Tonight, however, the action frightened the blond and made little rivulets of chilly panic course down his spine. Despite his growing discomfort, Naruto pulled Sasuke closer, moving slightly to bare his throat. The gesture was not lost on his subordinate, whose dark eyes widened with surprise.

"Never." Naruto promised, as Sasuke moved to softly lick the blood from his face.

"Don't die."

"You know I can't promise that, Teme. We're ninja." Naruto whispered, stroking his face softly.

"I…I love you. I want you to know, I do." Sasuke whispered, moving suddenly to press his lips against Naruto's exposed neck.

"Sasuke…" Naruto breathed, eyes wide with shock.

"I do. I never said it…but I…I want you to know. I love you." Sasuke whispered against the flesh of Naruto's throat, so soft he was barely audible.

"I love you too, bastard. I always have." Naruto chuckled.

"You trust me. You do. How…how can you trust me?" Sasuke asked, voice rough with emotion.

"I know you." Naruto said simply.

"You know I'm dangerous."

"You are many things…many good things and some bad, but I love them all." Naruto whispered, shrugging.

Sasuke sighed and the sound was very close to a sob. The jinchuuriki moved his hands through Sasuke's ebony hair, rubbing comforting circles into the raven's scalp. Naruto let him take the time, the space to go through whatever it was he was feeling. Sasuke had never been very good with his emotions, either trying to bury the feelings or badly misinterpreting them. A long moment passed and Sasuke moved to grip Naruto's arms and kiss him again, this time less aggressively. For once, the raven was slow and gentle as he explored the inside of his alpha's mouth. Though very much against his nature, Naruto made his lips soft and submissive, trying to lean back and giving Sasuke his surrender. The behavior was hard, unnatural, but he made himself reverse their usual dynamic. If it was trust that Sasuke needed to be assured of, there was really nothing else he could do.

Lower lip caught hard and bleeding between his teeth, Sasuke released Naruto's arms and moved his hands in appreciative strokes over the blond's muscular chest. Gently, Naruto tipped his head up and licked at the blood dripping from Sasuke's mouth. Sasuke grunted, almost too soft to hear, and bent to kiss Naruto's nipples. The raven's lips were gentle and stimulating, though unpracticed, against the sensitive flesh. Naruto trembled, letting out a slow breath and moving his hands to rest on Sasuke's sculpted hips. Hands fitted over the perfect muscular globes of his subordinate's ass, Naruto felt heat return to his blood, chasing the strangeness away. Sasuke's eyes were warm pools of ink, fathomless behind the sooty curtain of his lashes as he met Naruto's gaze and moved against him. The feeling of Sasuke's hardened arousal against his own was deep and viscerally pleasurable, sensual in a way that action had never been before.

Sasuke writhed against him, shameless and assertive, pausing only press himself closer or to kiss Naruto's mouth. The kyuubi vessel groaned, unable to bite back the sound as Sasuke gripped his shoulder in order to achieve even greater leverage to grind against him. The dark haired ninja's hand moved around their erections beneath the water, pressing the rigid flesh together and achieving startlingly intense intimate friction. Naruto gasped, hands kneading the firm flesh of Sasuke's hips, mind a hot white blank filled with the wintery scent of his subordinate and nothing else. The raven straddled him, all white skin and soft black hair stuck in damp strands to his face in the misty humidity. The jinchuuriki had never seen anything so seductive and his jaw ached, tight with the effort of not releasing himself against the sheer perfection of Sasuke's undulating body.

Naruto's control over his own flesh was almost absolute, but with each graceful thrust Sasuke was testing his alpha's limits. The other ninja was practically climbing him, hips rocking in a needy rhythm against Naruto's sex, one hand braced on his shoulder and the other around his cock. The blond felt his teeth grow long and sharp as he strove to hold back, to avoid tangling his fingers in Sasuke's hair and taking his subordinate just as they were. They panted and trembled together, each balancing on a razor's edge of control. There was steel in Sasuke's touch and fire in his eyes and the combination was both glorious and terrifying at once.

Naruto brought a finger down to circle the tender pucker of Sasuke's anus and the raven moaned low and hungry at the touch. For once, Sasuke simply allowed the sound to roll into the misty air and there was no resistance in his body. The sound sent hot shivers through Naruto's flesh and for a breathless moment he could not hold back any more. Naruto clenched the hand poised at Sasuke's entrance into a fist to feel the prick of his own claws deep into the flesh of his palm, fighting hard for control. Naruto growled or whimpered, he was not sure which, trying to clear the scarlet haze from his vision. Sasuke settled into his lap, the raven's breath warm and sensual against his cheek. He wrapped an arm around Naruto's neck, cupping the blond's skull in his powerful fingers, pressing just enough to bruise. It was a killer's caress, startling and very dangerous, but the jinchuuriki held himself relaxed and tried to remain calm. With his other hand, Sasuke caught Naruto's fist and brought it to his lips, licking the captive digits and peeling them open one by one.

Naruto groaned, panting low into the warm vapor of the bath, eyes closed tight as Sasuke lathed his tongue over his fingers. The pale ninja's tongue was soft, patient, lapping wetly against the sensitive pads of the jinchuuriki's fingers, sucking up and down, up and down. The action was maddening. Naruto's heart was pounding and he knew that if he opened his eyes and looked into the smoldering depths of Sasuke's gaze, that his will would shatter. He could feel Sasuke smile smugly against his palm, nuzzling his hand affectionately and nipping the edge of his thumb. Naruto gasped.

"I want it. Do it." Sasuke whispered.

"You're ready?" Naruto asked softly, opening his eyes.

"You never asked before." Sasuke teased.

"Well…you're kinda freaking me out." Naruto admitted.

"Idiot."

Naruto sighed and finally allowed himself to take control, looping his arm around Sasuke's waist, pulling him close. He kissed Sasuke hungrily, hand moving to grip the other ninja's damp ebony locks tightly, pulling his subordinate's head to the side and exposing his neck. Sasuke shivered and made a teasing sound, a bit like a snarl and a laugh combined. Naruto moaned and sunk his teeth deeply into the juncture of the raven's neck and shoulder, pressing nearly hard enough to break the skin. Sasuke moaned, grinding hard against him. With his free hand, still warm from the sensual furnace of Sasuke's mouth, Naruto reached to the side of the tub and gathered a handful of Sakura's conditioner.

He spread the lubricant generously over the skin of Sasuke's entrance, holding the raven tightly in his arms as he moaned and thrashed against him. Naruto pressed a finger against the tight flesh, rubbing gently, the heat and water making Sasuke soft. By the gods, his body was so stimulating! Naruto's belly was tight and trembling with tension, his erection rigid and aching against the hard shaft of Sasuke's arousal. Sasuke sighed and relaxed against his fingers, his body trained by years of careful lovemaking, the muscles wise and responsive. Naruto groaned, eagerly slipping a slickened finger into the tight opening. He rubbed in a widening circle, strong and intentional, relishing the feeling of Sasuke's satiny, intimate skin against his finger. The raven groaned, panting hard and Naruto added another finger, kissing a searing line across his subordinate's chest.

Sasuke was eager, thrusting wantonly against his fingers and Naruto was on the edge again, aroused nearly beyond control. He added a third and Sasuke whimpered as his body accepted the larger invasion. Naruto found the electric place deep within and stroked the sensitive tissue, crying out along with his subordinate as Sasuke hissed in ecstasy. The jinchuuriki pressed hard, massaging Sasuke's prostate strongly. The raven arched his back, tears slipping unheeded from his eyes, lip tight in his teeth. He rode the ecstasy, trembling in its wake, and rose onto his knees.

Sasuke gripped Naruto's penis, positioning his hips carefully over the shaft, before sinking down. Naruto screamed, digging his claws hard into Sasuke's ass as the perfect, velvet vice of his lover's body closed over his own. For a moment, Naruto couldn't breathe around the heat, the molten pleasure of being inside him. Sasuke was pale with the pain, the sweat on his face shining in the dull lights. The water rippled as he quivered, trying to adjust to Naruto's size. Naruto panted hard, muscles cramping with the effort of remaining still. When Sasuke finally moved, there was no hesitancy, only the muscular surging of his hips and the sharp, exquisite pleasure of friction.

The water roared around them as Naruto surged up in maddened ecstasy and Sasuke fell against him, shrieking as the intimate ache was consumed by pleasure. Sasuke found a rhythm, moving up and down, hugging Naruto's face to his chest. Naruto kissed the flesh, cupping Sasuke's ass as they moved, letting the pleasure erase everything except his lover and the electric passion between them. The blond held the raven's hips, moving hard, but Sasuke used the leverage to gain control once again. He moved strongly, squeezing with his thighs and Naruto roared in frustration. They fought and loved in equal measure, pounding and screaming and once half drowning with the passion of it. Having Sasuke on top was new and intoxicating and confrontational in a way that wrung every ounce of passion from Naruto's soul. When he came it was with Sasuke's hands hard in his hair and his subordinate's teeth closed against his throat.

OoOoOoO

Hiashi sat uneasily on the wide wooden deck that surrounded the main house, staring at the moon as the glowing orb moved behind the clouds. The hour was late and once again he was forced to use the deepest part of the night to shield his family from the unfortunate and dark machinations of his position. Being a clan head meant making ruthless decisions, decisions that his soft hearted daughter would not understand. Regardless, something had to be done to gain control of the situation. Hinata had won the right to marry Kiba and the oni clan had begun to procreate. Hiashi had no delusions as to the quality of the foreign brat's offspring, even with his dirty blood. The sharingan would be passed to the child along with the considerable power of the fallen Uchihas and the Kyuubi itself. Such a catastrophe had to be prevented, especially if Hinata insisted upon weakening their own bloodline with a mating to Inuzuka.

Obviously the use of spies was no longer an option and, even worse, the Hyuuga clan was indebted to Uzumaki for Neji's life. Hiashi was grateful that his nephew had survived, but now circumstances had become delicate. The hokage would stay out of clan affairs, but she might intercede on Naruto's behalf if a debt was not repaid. Tsunade, the old bitch, would not hesitate to the problem to protect her pet monster. Once he had sought to use the malice of an old enemy to deal with the spawning nest of foreign demons festering in Konoha, but Madara had been too proud. Hiashi could not afford to make the same mistake. He had to be clever and, most of all, careful.

The shadows shifted and Hiashi was able to barely discern another presence beside him on the deck. He narrowed his eyes and listened, but heard nothing. The Hyuuga clan head smiled and gestured even as Suki melted from the shadows, her lithe body willowy and graceful.

"You are subtle as ever, Suki. Truly, you are my finest assassin." Hiashi whispered.

"Your praise is generous as ever, my lord." Suki replied, bowing low.

"We have a problem." Hiashi said, folding his arms.

"Uzumaki. He is now not only an enemy, but the holder of a considerable debt." Suki replied softly.

"Yes. Neji has survived and is recovering, thank Kami."

"Hmmm…A debt not easily settled." Suki sighed.

"No, but perhaps this too can be turned to our advantage." Hiashi mused.

"How?"

"There are certain gifts that will give us eyes within the demon's holdings, allow us to plan an assault."

"The Oni will be wary of such things." Suki argued.

"The creature is too sentimental, it will be his downfall." Hiashi replied.

"What is your plan?"

"I will offer Neji to him as a subordinate. Naruto cannot refuse without causing grievous insult." Hiashi explained, voice tight and angry. Suki was wisely silent for a breath and then another.

"How can you know that Naruto will not simply confine Neji in isolation? The practice is not uncommon in political marriages, or so I am told."

"The demon is blinded by devotion to his friends. He has already risked his life to save Neji and obviously thinks highly of my nephew. Eventually, he will allow Neji access to the information we need." Hiashi replied.

"With that kind of intelligence, we can mount a perfect strike…" Suki mused, sounding excited.

"If Naruto refuses the marriage, we attack to reciprocate the insult. To decline a peace offering of marriage would be the same as declaring war. If he accepts…well, we will have the intelligence we need. Either way, we are given legitimate cause to kill him or a perfect vector for eliminating him later." Hiashi said, voice cold with rage.

"Your plan is perfect, but…you seem hesitant…"

"The plan makes sense, but I do not like using my Neji in this capacity. He is not just a weapon." Hiashi said quietly.

"You said they are friends. He would be luckier in that respect that most forced into an arranged marriage…" Suki argued, her voice soothing.

"My nephew is not a whore."

"Neji is a ninja and seduction for the purpose of intelligence retrieval is something almost all ninja must do at least once. This is the same." Suki replied.

"You are wise, my Suki. I suppose you are right." Hiashi sighed.

"It is an elegant solution to our problem…or one problem. What of Kiba? Will you disown Hinata?" Suki asked.

"No. I will not give the Byukugan over to Inuzuka so easily and, at last, Hinata has proven that she has the capacity to be ruthless. I have no choice. Hinata will remain in line for leadership and the addition of one worthless son in law is little sacrifice to protect the Byukugan." Hiashi said, frowning.

"Especially because worthless sons in law tend to be prone to accidents." Suki agreed.

"True, though I think Inuzuka may come down with an unfortunate illness instead." Hiashi muttered.

"Poison…risky, it could be recognized." Suki whispered.

"Not if done slowly, carefully. Not if a few of the servants also fall ill. No one will suspect anything until far too late and by then they will not be able to prove foul play. I cannot risk waiting for an appropriate moment for an accident and end up with weak-blooded grandchildren." Hiashi said tightly.

"I will begin immediately then."

"Excellent. I expect Inuzuka to be arriving here soon once the marriage agreement is finalized. Deal with him quietly, Suki. Hinata must never know." Hiashi ordered.

"Of course." Suki promised, melting again into the shadows.

OoOoOoO

Sai sipped his tea and idly drew in his sketchbook, letting the buzzing hum of conversation in the tea house soothe him. He had not been sleeping well and the mild caffeine provided by the green tea had only been enough to make him feel both jittery and exhausted. Sai had hoped that Tsunade-sama would have assigned him another mission by now, but the Hokage apparently thought he needed a rest. She had put him on leave for a period yet undetermined. He wondered if Shino might have had something to do with the Hokage's decision and felt a vague flicker of…something…at the thought. The bug loving ninja had as much as told him that he was a 'nervous wreck' and 'unfit for duty' but Sai had not really known what Shino meant and so largely ignored him. Perhaps ignoring his friend had been a mistake.

Sai sighed and gazed down at the fine pad of paper beneath his hands to the drawing he had been sketching without looking. He had drawn her. Again. Sakura's smiling face, a sadly imperfect rendering at best, smiled up at him from the paper. Even a as a bare shadow of the actual person, the drawing was so very appealing. He loved drawing Sakura and Naruto, even more than he loved drawing the stars, though he tried to avoid the impulse because the act often made his chest hurt. The stars were safe and distant, but she was just as beautiful. Today he had drawn her with her hand half pulled through her long hair, her expression both gleeful and shy. If only he had brought paints, he might have given the portrait some color and color with Sakura was so very important. Sai had once called her ugly because Danzo had told him that she was, and he did not think to question him…but something had changed. One day Sai had discovered that her hair was a color he had never actually seen before, a color so rich and bright and glittery at once that he could not at first comprehend the sight.

The color was one he had never seen in nature and only once in a rare and shiny stone worn around the throat of a Daimyo's wife. The contrast of the shining, sparkly pink hair with her clear green eyes was striking, certainly not ugly. Poor Danzo must have been color blind, Sai mused. Though he had missed it too, her rare beauty, he had not been used to looking for color in a person before. In the monochromatic black and white of the graphite, Sakura was just a girl, but in real life…in true color…The paints would have been a waste, he never would have been able to replicate the shade anyway. Perhaps he should draw Naruto. The jinchuuriki was easier, though the smile was difficult. Naruto said so much with a smile. The jinchuuriki could smile and forgive or insult or apologize or even love…

Sai groaned. His chest hurt again, dammit. He raised his hand and ordered a cup of mint tea to soothe the ache. Sometimes it helped. The waiter nodded to him and rushed off to fill the order, leaving Sai alone with his smiling portrait. Then, almost like another waking dream, he heard her.

"I'm tired and it's too hot! I need a break! Let's have some tea." Sakura whined.

"You can't have tea. Caffeine is bad for the baby. Let's just go home." Sasuke said, sounding grouchy.

"Ahhh! Sasuke, come ooooonnnn! I'll just have some mint tea!" She groaned.

"We can stop for tea, what's the big hurry? Going out to the market was supposed to be fun!" Naruto laughed.

"It isn't safe out here." Sasuke hissed.

"We'll be fine, Teme. No one is planning an ambush at the tea house. We could all use some tea, you especially. You need to relax." Naruto said and Sasuke grumbled something unintelligible.

"Naruto! Sakura!" Sai shouted, waving wildly and startling several other customers.

"Hey Sai!" Naruto said, smiling in a way that said he was glad for an excuse to be done arguing with Sasuke.

"Hello, Sai. I haven't seen you in a while." Sakura said, looking hot and a little sick.

"Sasuke, you remember Sai…" Naruto said.

The raven haired ninja raised an eyebrow and looked at Sai as if he wished he were somewhere else. Sai smiled and extended his hand as Shino had shown him how to do when making a friend. Sasuke looked at the appendage like he wanted to break it and Sai smiled, because the other man was a little frightening and that emotion was at least easy to understand. Sai decided that he would draw Sasuke next. The black of his eyes and his hair against the smooth white skin was very interesting and he could probably do it in black and white. Sasuke had an interesting face, it was elegant and harmonious, much like the thin white china that they made in Suna. He was appealing too, though not like Naruto, not at all the same.

"Nice to see you again. You really are beautiful." Sai said, smiling.

"Excuse me?" Sasuke said, dark eyes becoming wide and red.

"Ah! Don't worry Sasuke, Sai didn't mean anything by it! He's just a little awkward around people…" Naruto hedged frantically, trying to simultaneously pull a chair out for Sakura to sit and head off violence from his subordinate.

"Oh. You are the retarded one then." Sasuke said, crossing his arms.

"No. I rank in the 98th percentile in intelligence." Sai replied, unperturbed.

"Clearly."

"Sasuke! Don't be nasty!" Sakura chided, smiling gratefully at Naruto.

"Tch. You have disturbing friends." Sasuke said, moving to sit beside Sakura.

"You are not one to judge." Sakura said, poking him in the ribs.

Sasuke frowned, but remained silent, looking around the tea shop carefully as if he was expecting some kind of attack. So, he wanted to protect her. That, at least was something that Sai could understand and relate to a little. Naruto had taught him about the powerful desire to protect one's comrades. The idea was subtle, but very important and the simple truth of it had changed Sai's entire life. He smiled and, for once, the expression fell naturally onto his face. He moved to sit by Naruto, getting as close as the chair would allow. Naruto smiled and the smile said 'you are too close again, but it's okay' so Sai stayed where he was.

"Wow! Sai! This is…um…wow." Sakura said, catching sight of the drawing.

"Oh…yes…" Sai whispered lamely, trying to cover the paper.

As usual, however, Sakura would not be deterred and grabbed the sketchbook deftly from his hands. Sai felt something shoot sharp and a little nauseas through his gut. The sensation was a bit like the fear he felt looking at Sasuke, but worse somehow. Naruto looked at him and his blue eyes were very deep, too close, looking at everything. Sakura gazed at her portrait, a hand held over her mouth in what Sai could only guess was shock.

"You made me look so…pretty." She whispered.

"You are prettier in real life. I did not have any colors." Sai whispered, heart beating too fast, mouth dry.

"I…I…thought…You said I was ugly…" Sakura said, her face pale and startled.

"Danzo must have been color blind." Sai replied, shrugging.

"What? I'm confused." Naruto replied, rubbing his temple.

"Look at this portrait! It's amazing!" Sakura said, pointing to the paper.

Naruto took the sketchbook from her, smiling in a way that said he was worried. The jinchuuriki's eyes became very wide and Sasuke moved like he was going to lunge across the table to see, but Sakura firmly grabbed his wrist. Naruto swallowed.

"It's beautiful…" He whispered.

"Why are you drawing my wife?" Sasuke snarled, his eyes angry red sharingan swirls.

"I don't know. I just do." Sai replied, fake smile like glue on his face.

"It's okay. We were teammates. Sai is an artist, he draws everything." Sakura said with a laugh that was high and odd, like she didn't quite have enough air for it.

"Then why is our baka looking like that?" Sasuke growled, pointing at Naruto angrily.

Naruto was indeed looking very strange. His eyes were wide and intense as if there was a puzzle he was absorbed in trying to understand. Before Sai could try to get the sketchbook back, the jinchuuriki turned the page. It was a drawing of the stars. The waiter brought Sai the mint tea and he was glad because the sick feeling was only getting worse. Sakura ordered some mint tea for herself and some chamomile for Sasuke, which made him frown. Apparently she thought the raven haired ninja needed to relax too.

Naruto did not order anything, hand held with the knuckles against his lips, silent and concentrating. He flipped another page and then another and then another. Sai felt like maybe he would lose consciousness and discovered that the sensation might have been because he had forgotten to breathe. Sasuke sipped his tea, looking tense. All of them were too quiet.

"Sai…there are so many drawings of her and of me…I don't understand." Naruto said softly.

Sai swallowed. Naruto moved his hands over a drawing of himself, kissing Sakura, one that Sai was particularly fond of. He had drawn the jinchuuriki's hands perfectly in that drawing, how they could be soft and hard at the same time. In the drawing, Naruto's hands looked warm, just the way they were in real life. Drawing him that way was very hard to do.

"Sometimes…I just do it." Sai replied, running his thumb over the edge of the book.

"Sai…" Sakura whispered.

"What the HELL is going on!" Sasuke shouted.

"It's just…I have a headache. Let's go home." Naruto said suddenly, standing.

"What?" Sasuke railed.

"Come on, Teme. I'm sorry, Sakura. I feel really sick, let's go." Naruto said quickly and he did look very pale.

"But…" Sakura protested, confused.

"Oh…I hope you feel better." Sai said, standing with them so he wouldn't feel so heavy.

"I just need to get out of the heat. Let's go." Naruto said, maneuvering Sakura towards the door. Sasuke followed them closely, arm wrapped around Sakura's waist as they left the tea house.

"Goodbye." Sai said, smiling and waving and trying to breathe.

OoOoOoO

Neji woke and came to awareness through the muggy confusion of heavy medication, feeling numb, unsure where he was. Sensation returned to him slowly, bits and fragments of information filtering through the heavy fog in his mind. The skin of his face felt muzzy and thick, his lips stiff and dry. His throat was also dry and sticky, uncomfortable. He swallowed sluggishly and the effort cost more than he had expected. Only after a moment or more did Neji come to the revelation that he was in terrible pain. The worst pain he had ever experienced. He was in agony, far more terrible than any he had known before, throbbing and burning through every nerve.

A deep, awful ache stretched in agonizing waves from the tip of his sternum down into the muscles of his belly, sending piercing torture through his ribs with each breath. He would have screamed, but screaming required breathing and each breath was nearly enough to force him into unconsciousness again. When had he been hurt so badly? The last thing Neji remembered was grappling with Hinata and finally managing to lock the squirming girl into a hold and then darkness followed by lightning… Nothing made sense. Vaguely, like a nightmare from long ago, he remembered Naruto and some kind of terrible pain, like pressure in his very soul…a break, heat flooding in and then…nothing.

"You are awake." Hiashi's voice was soft and concerned, coming from the right.

"H…Hai." Neji managed, the vibrations of the speech sending little geysers of pain through his chest.

"I know you are in pain, but we must speak. You have been sedated for almost five days." Hiashi explained.

"Five days…What? How?" Neji asked, utterly confused, opening his eyes and wincing at the harsh sunlight.

"You were hurt, badly hurt, while dueling Hinata." Hiashi explained.

"Hinata? Is she…" Neji asked, suddenly worried.

Hiashi seemed to read the fear in Neji's face and smiled softly. The elder looked tired and worn, obviously stressed, sitting beside the hospital bed in rumpled robes. Neji immediately felt guilty, guilty for losing and more for allowing himself to be hurt so badly. Hiashi moved a fraction, gesturing towards the door.

"She is fine, fully healed. In fact, she would still be here beside you if I had not told her to go. She is waiting out in the hall and you may speak to her if you wish once we have finished." Hiashi whispered, smiling distantly, his mind obviously occupied with other things.

"I…I am sorry uncle…" Neji began, the pain making his vision dark around the edges.

"As am I. My foolish daughter has maneuvered us into a precarious position. If I disown her, then the damn Inuzuka's will possess the Byukugan for their lineage and we will be left with nothing. If I support her birthright, I am saddled forever by an idiot for a son in law." Hiashi hissed.

Neji bit his lip, feeling ashamed. Kiba was no idiot and the man loved Hinata desperately. Neji could not decide if he should defend his cousin's choice, even as he lay injured by her blade, or agree with Hiashi's obvious hatred of the Inuzuka heir. Kiba was difficult even to dislike, much less hate, and they had always been good friends.

"Hurting our clan was never Hina's intention." Neji said softly.

"Yet she has. Stupid girl, she is too much like her mother." Hiashi muttered darkly.

Neji was silent, unsure what to say. He had never found Hinata's mother to be stupid, but the assessment was not his to make either way. If anything, the Hiashi's wife was elegant and almost completely silent in a vaguely sad sort of way.

"What will you do?" Neji whispered, feeling nauseas with both the pain and the conversation.

"What I must, as always. Hinata will be my heir and the mutt her consort." Hiashi sighed.

"Kiba is a good person." Neji said, perhaps a bit too eagerly.

"Having him will be less of a sacrifice than letting clan Inuzuka breed the Byukugan and we may not have to tolerate him forever. Who knows, ninja lead dangerous lives, perhaps an enemy will overcome him." Hiashi said, shrugging.

"It is always possible for us…" Neji replied, feeling miserable.

He wanted to tell his uncle that Kiba was a worthy suitor, that the other ninja would make an excellent addition to the clan. He wanted to support his friend, but Hiashi was his leader. Any recommendation for Kiba would seem like insolence, even though Neji was sure that if Hiashi knew Kiba just a little better… Neji sighed quietly and tried hard not to pass out.

"However, my daughter has given us more immediate problems. Because of your injury, we are now indebted to the damn Oni. That is why I woke you."

"Naruto? Why? How? " Neji asked, confused.

"His mate, Sakura, was the one who saved you. She treated you on the field and in the hospital. I had no idea you were so close to Uzumaki…" Hiashi remarked, pinching the bridge of his nose in obvious frustration.

"We aren't terribly close. I have run a few missions with Naruto and one or two with Sakura. I count them as friends…" Neji explained, feeling uncomfortable.

"Apparently you've made an impression on the demon and, more importantly, his wife. You were gravely injured and she performed the surgery that saved your life."

"She would do that for anyone."

"Naruto also acted as a chakra donor…" Hiashi related tightly.

"W…What? Why would he do that? The risk…by Kami…" Neji exclaimed, shocked that his friend had cared so much.

"Yes. Fortunately for us, the damn jinchuuriki has little sense when it comes to risking his life. You are alive and healing and for that I am grateful." Hiashi said, smiling wearily.

"Naruto is loyal to his friends." Neji said with a small smile.

Naruto had saved him. Naruto of all people had come to rescue him. Neji had nurtured an enduring respect for the jinchuuriki since the day of the chuunin exams. Rude, wild and unreservedly loving, Naruto had taught him so much about life and moving beyond his bitter acceptance of fate. True, the blond had taught him by beating the living shit out of him, but that was who Naruto was. The little blond oni was nothing if not direct. Neji could have chuckled if the action would not have hurt so badly. Now, thinking on the situation a bit, it was not so surprising that Naruto had risked his own life to help him. Uzumaki was not a person tempered by anything, certainly not concern over decorum, and he would have done the same for any Konohan ninja.

Or perhaps it had been Sakura, the rose haired kunoichi had never been one to merely watch someone die. She was merciful in the most inexorable way possible, determined to help anyone who needed her, close friend or not. Since her marriage to Naruto, the girl had shown a fiercer side and Neji had no doubt that she had wrestled him back from the brink by sheer will alone.

"I would not have been hurt at all if I hadn't been so careless." Neji said softly.

"Regardless, you are alive and for that we owe the demon a favor." Hiashi said, his voice tight with repressed anger. Neji felt cold at the words.

"I think the matter of debt will be easily settled. Naruto is a simple person." He offered.

"Careful, nephew. You must realize that Naruto is not a person at all, but a monster. He is a dangerous animal. Naiveté in this matter is not appropriate." Hiashi growled, voice low and heavy with disapproval.

Neji bit his tongue, looking away from his uncle's frowning countenance. Hiashi had never liked Naruto much and perhaps he had a right to fear the jinchuuriki. Neji had been a baby during the nine tailed kitsune attack and he had only heard of the destruction wrought by the creature second hand. Hiashi had lived through the attack. Perhaps his attitude was justified, but Neji had a hard time thinking of Naruto that way. The blond had been, at worst, a nuisance and always a true and honest friend.

"I mean no disrespect, sensei." Neji whispered.

"Of course not, but the fact still remains. Uzumaki is dangerous and growing more so. Something must be done. I have spoken to Morino Ibiki and officially resigned your commission from ANBU." Hiashi said, voice firm.

"W…What?" Neji gasped.

"You are no longer an ANBU officer. I am sorry, Neji."

"But…why?" Neji whispered, the shock like ice water in his belly, numbing even the pain.

"You have a more important task to accomplish. When you are healed, I will arrange your marriage to Naruto Uzumaki and form an alliance with his clan." Hiashi explained, his voice coarse and monotone.

"But…he is already married…" Neji argued, feeling panicked.

"You will become a secondary mate to him. Jinchuuriki take multiple subordinates."

"I don't understand…" Neji whispered, confused.

"I need your eyes there, within the demon's holdings, keeping guard. It is only a matter of time until the jinchuuriki's instincts become a danger to us all. You will watch everything, every word and action, and report it to me."

"I am to be there as a spy?" Neji asked, feeling disgusted.

"No. You are there to ensure peace for all of us. It is a political marriage, one that will bring balance to both clans. By becoming his subordinate, you will absolve our debt to Uzumaki and also protect the Hyuuga clan from the demon's ire. Satisfy the creature and be watchful for any signs that the Kyuubi may return." Hiashi ordered.

"Satisfy…?"

"You will likely be called upon to sleep with Naruto. Please him as best that you can."

"I…do not have that kind of training." Neji whispered miserably.

"No skill is needed in this. Lay with him and watch, that is all." Hiashi replied.

"When may I return to ANBU?"

"This is not an assignment, Neji. Your time with ANBU is finished. You will be Uzumaki's courtesan, that position is now your occupation. You will always be a loyal member of the Hyuuga clan. Your task is different, but the duty has not changed. Do you understand?" Hiashi asked coldly.

"What about Sasuke? I was one of the three who brought him back to Konoha, he will not have forgotten…" Neji argued, his throat tight. All of this had to be a dream.

"Sasuke would not dare to harm you and if he does…well, we will take you back." Hiashi said, shrugging.

Neji felt as if ice water had been splashed down his spine. Hiashi was talking about war, civil war, against Naruto Uzumaki. The Hyuuga clan had not entered into a clan war for almost a hundred years! Were circumstances really so dire between his family and Uzumaki that Hiashi considered arranged marriage to be the only peaceful option? Could it be that his future was being traded to halt a clan war? Neji shook his head. That did not make any sense. Naruto would never have threatened such action, the blond loved Konoha too much to ever bring civil war into his beloved city.

"Uncle…please…"

"Rest now and heal. Take whatever time you need." Hiashi ordered softly.

"There is…no other way?"

"This is the best way, nephew."

"H…Hai." Neji replied, chest tight with pain and anger.

Hiashi squeezed his shoulder affectionately and left. His face was hot with the anger, anger swiftly turning into despair. He did not dare oppose Hiashi, but…Neji shook his head. He had come so far, overcome so many obstacles, all for nothing. Naruto had taught him to fight against fate, but Neji's destiny seemed to be spiraling far out of his control. No matter what he did, what he accomplished, the destination was still the same. He would remain a servant, even if it would no longer be in the Hyuuga house. The truth of it was harsh and bitter in his throat. Neji trembled a moment, gaining a few more seconds of dignity, and then let the tears slip unheeded down his face.

"Cousin? May I come in?" Hinata's soft timid voice called from the doorway.

"Come." Neji said, not caring if she saw him cry.

"I…I heard what father has decided." She whispered, coming close to the bedside.

"I will do my duty."

The girl's face still sported several rather impressive bruises and a cracked lip, but she did not seem to be in much pain. Hinata smiled at him sadly and Neji's vision blurred with tears. She was a good person, a good woman. How could he have ever thought that a loveless marriage was all that she deserved? Perhaps he should have felt betrayed, but Hinata was hard to imagine as a traitor and she had been honest with him from the beginning. No, all of this was his fault and the simple cruelty of fate.

"Are you in pain, Cousin?" She asked, her palm light and cool against his face.

"Yes…" He replied.

She nodded and emptied a large syringe of narcotics into the IV hanging beside the bed. Almost immediately, Neji felt the effects of the drug, chasing the pain away and making everything numb. Hinata gently wiped the tears from his face with a damp cloth, silent and attentive. Neji cried and let the pain overwhelm him. After what seemed like a very long time, Hinata took his hand and looked into his face.

"Better?"

"A bit."

"I…I am so sorry! Please forgive me!" She cried, dropping to her knees beside him.

"There is nothing to forgive. You fought well and with honor Hina…"

"I did not want to hurt you!" She sobbed.

"I know. You did not want to hurt Kiba either." Neji said, managing a smile for her.

"No…it's just…not fair." She whispered.

"Nothing is fair." Neji whispered bitterly.

"I…I went to the ANBU offices while you talked to Father. I…well…I thought you might want it…" Hinata mumbled as she dug through a small bag.

The drug was making Neji tired, and he found focusing more and more difficult. Still, he was curious. Hinata pulled the ceramic mask from her satchel, presenting it to him timidly. Neji took the item, looking over it, letting his fingers drift over the bright lines of paint. The mask was a stylized rendering of a falcon, beak sharp and fierce, the eyes emphasized by thick red lines. The creature was who he became when he was away on a mission, an expression of the strongest part of his personality. There was fierceness to the falcon, a deep need for freedom only overcome by the creature's loyalty. A falcon was a bird that could be tethered to a beloved master. It was fitting, more so than he had ever realized. Neji sighed.

"Thank you, Hina." He whispered.

"I love you, Cousin." The girl whispered, kissed his forehead.

"And I you. I'm glad we're not married." Neji replied, smiling a little.

She smiled, stroked his hair again and moved away. Neji closed his eyes, waiting for the soft latching of the door as Hinata left. The drugs sought to drag him under, but Neji managed to maintain consciousness a few moments longer. When the girl had gone, he looked once more at his ANBU mask and brushed it onto the floor where the falcon shattered into a thousand pieces.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neji seeks guidance from an old lover and receives a warning instead as Sai's obsession finally overpowers his flagging self-control.

The social dynamic of a jinchuuriki pack is complex to a level and degree that few other human or demon familial systems achieve. The harmony of a pack is dependent both upon the leadership of the alpha and the harmonious balance between pack members, a situation rare in that both human and demon components must act in concert. For the human subordinates engaged in such a situation, many of the deepest human impulses must be curbed or eliminated completely as the alpha lacks the ability to fully comprehend the nature of these instincts. Jinchuuriki, for all that they are an unnatural union of man and demon, display characteristics distinct from each. A jinchuuriki may understand concepts of jealousy and the terror of social domination cognitively but, as the creature does not experience these drives himself, he cannot sympathize. To the jinchuuriki, such feelings are alien, and it is the pack which must cleave to him in this respect even as the creature seeks to support the needs of all.

Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons

Neji walked towards the far west end of Konoha, following a path his feet still remembered far too well. True, he had not come this way in almost three years, not since his betrothal to Hinata had become official, but his body had not forgotten the thrill of such midnight journeys. He was so giddy, belly wound tight and nervous, that he could have giggled and almost did. Neji felt skittish, hypersensitive and eager all at the same time. She always made him feel this way, the intoxicating combination of joy and terror, a dichotomy essential to her nature. Almost a month had passed since his injury and though Neji was still weak and a bit sore, he did not feel fatigued. He could have run to her if doing so would not have made him feel so silly and immature. The stars were bright overhead and the wind was still soft and warm with the very last breath of summer. The combination was strange as he had always associated Anko with the smell of winter. Softness and warmth was not part of her being and he had never minded, but Neji knew that she longed to love the way other women could. In many ways Anko was like the winter season, bright and lovely, but also hard and deadly if pressed. She had told him not to come to her again, but Neji was not visiting her tonight as a lover, but as a teacher.

He needed her help and Anko was, among so many other things, an expert in seduction and information retrieval. She knew what it was like to sleep with someone simply for what they knew and, while Neji did not believe Naruto capable of anything like Hiashi feared, the character of his mission was to do just that. Hiashi had asked him to watch, charged him with preserving the peace between the two clans, and Neji would succeed in this and every other mission he had been given. Anko would know what to do, how to prepare, everything. She had even once hinted that she might have personal experience with jinchuuriki. If anyone could help him, it would be his one-time lover. However, Neji could not be sure that Anko would even speak to him or what she would say. He sighed, biting his lip, lost in memories.

Even before his betrothal to Hinata, Anko had realized that the nature of their relationship was slowly, but surely, spiraling out of control. Neji knew all her secrets and many of them were very dark, a darkness that filled him with disgust, but also a kind of terrified erotic fascination. Sleeping with a student much younger than herself was deviant enough, but Anko had also indoctrinated him into the world she had shared with Orochimaru. She had not meant to go so far, only enough to scare him away, but Neji was not frightened easily. He had pushed her, challenged her and Anko was almost physiologically incapable of resisting that kind of provocation. She was mysterious and interesting and nothing like anyone he had ever met before. He wanted to know her, to show her his strength, demonstrate that he was more than a mere pupil. They had become lovers almost as a game, a dare that moved from one thing to the next until one night they made love and by then it was too late. Anko never could resist a game, especially one that involved some kind of test and Neji often wondered if he had managed to take advantage of that quality in her. During the quiet times when she felt unsure, Anko often remarked that it was hard to say just who had taken advantage of whom, but the problem was that someone had.

She worried that she was polluting him, warping his mind, but Neji had loved her too desperately to care. He learned how to use the blades, cutting just the way she liked, drawing thin lines of blood across her sinewy body. There was grace to the task, cutting deep enough to bleed, but not enough to scar. Neji hated to see her flinch and loved to see her eyes grow dark and wild with passion as he licked the blade. Like everything else, sex with Anko was a dichotomy, a tentative balance between ecstasy and true madness. The act was twisted, but exciting and soon his mind forgot how to differentiate between the adrenaline of fear and the thrill of sex. She took his virginity and more, perhaps even a part of his soul, but Neji could never bring himself to blame her or hate her. Anko loved him, in every way that she could and in the end even enough to let him go. Their affair had been secret and Anko was excellent at keeping secrets. During the day he was only another Jounin under her tutelage and at night he was her student as well, but the lesson was one she had never taught to anyone else.

To say Anko was a masochist was far too simplistic, too clean and categorical, to ever describe the complexity of the woman Neji had loved. Anko loved pain and she loved pleasure, she loved screaming and silence, but most of all she loved blood. To watch the fluid flow, to feel it on her skin, to taste her own blood was the only thing that ever really satisfied her. They had only been lovers a few weeks before Neji discovered that, though Anko was an excellent liar, she was not actually satisfied. She lay with him simply because doing so was the only way she could win, not because she had achieved any release from the act. He had asked, he had pushed and one night when she was just a little bit drunk, Anko had shown him the knives…

Neji had been frightened, but she made the cutting almost like another game, licking the blade and taunting him, expecting him to refuse. He accepted instead and perhaps that was when Anko began to lose control of the experience. After a while, Neji began to feel himself changing, adapting to the odd and erotically violent love that he shared with Anko. Even bound and bleeding she was always in control, always dominant on some level. Neji had once hated that, but he had not understood that she was only trying to protect him, to keep him from going to a place where she could no longer pull them back. He had wanted to make her come apart, to shatter all her barriers, to make love to her and have her think only of him. He did not want her to love him as a student, but as an equal and he could never be her equal so long as she held all the tethers. Perhaps that was why Neji had pushed and countered all her good intentions and finally succeeded in loving her fully on her own terms. Both drunk on adrenaline and endorphins, they shared the blood and pain like a pair of tormented spirits. She had wanted to protect him from the act and from the horror and from herself, but it was already too late…

So one day, she woke up and noticed that the cuts were not just on her own skin, but his as well. Neji barely remembered what had happened the night before, but she had lost control and reciprocated. She had cut him, made a gruesome meshwork of reddened lines over his back and shoulders. Anko had screamed when she saw his body, beating her fists against her own head. She had been horrified and sickened, filled with shame. He could still see her, head bent low on her knees sobbing, begging for his forgiveness. Neji shuddered at the memory. He had loved her and it hurt watching the woman he adored tearing herself apart, even if the image was now only in his head now. Anko realized what she had been doing and just how far they had gone. The fact that Neji was almost a decade younger only made her feel worse. That was the day she had screamed at him to leave and never return, to save himself. Anko told him that if he ever became like her, if he ever allowed himself to be twisted into the monster that she had become under Orochimaru's guidance…that she would kill him herself.

She told Neji that she was so very sorry and he had gone, not because he wanted to, but because she was so fierce and terrible. He had gone back and tried to talk to her many times, but she had never so much as cracked the door to speak with him. Neji raged at her and cried for her and sent letters, but she only looked at him as an instructor, in the harshness of daylight, without even a hint of warmth. Neji nursed the hurt and slowly became numb as his first love ended and he finally began to heal. When he became officially betrothed to Hinata, Neji left flowers at Anko's door with a note and never walked west again.

He sighed. Almost three years had passed and her apartment seemed just the same. The door was unremarkable and yet he had managed to remember everything about the barrier. The scarred wood held many secrets, from the way bracings had creaked when she slammed it in his face, to the way it trembled when he had made love to her against it. Despite her fierceness, Anko was tiny and easy to lift, easy to hold…too easy. Neji swallowed, feeling hot and cold at the same time, terrified of what she would say and eager to hear the words. He would have knocked, but the door opened before he had even raised his hand. She knew he was there, she had always known.

"Hey, kid, are you lost?" She asked, her lithe, strong, compact body lounging easily against the door frame in a rumpled kimono and her steel netting.

"I am, sensei. I need your help." Neji replied, his voice shaking only a little.

"Help?" Her eyes narrowed and he knew at once that she was concerned.

"I…I am supposed to…well…I will be married soon." Neji whispered, trying to drag his eyes away from the supple curve of her breasts beneath the net.

"Baby…I told you not to waste yourself on this. It isn't love and you are too young to know the difference." Anko said, pulling her kimono tighter.

"No…That isn't why. It isn't what you think. I just…I need your help because I'm getting married." Neji groaned lamely.

"To your creamy little cousin? She's a good kid, but Hiashi is nuts if he thinks that she can handle you. You have too many kinks." Anko said, yawning to hide the pain in her eyes.

"No. She won the right to marry Kiba…I…I have been offered to someone else." Neji replied.

"So the cream puff has claws after all? Good girl, I'm proud of her." Anko said thoughtfully.

"Hinata fought well."

"And now Hiashi's whoring you out to somebody else? Typical…" Anko said, crossing her arms.

"He does what he thinks is best for the clan and for Konoha." Neji replied defensively.

"Yeah, right. Why come to me?" Anko asked, just a bit cruelly.

"May I come in?" Neji asked her, moving closer.

"No." Anko whispered.

"Anko! I…I'm not here because…I only…Ah! I want to speak with you as a professor, dammit!" He snapped. Her eyes widened.

"You bug all your teachers at three in the morning?" She asked, crooked smile fond and also a little mean.

"Only the ones who know how to fuck someone and feel nothing." He spat back. She stiffened.

"That wasn't the problem and you know it! We went too far, got too deep, it was bad…you know it was bad…" She growled, her tone low and dangerous.

"Anko…I knew you would be awake…"

"You should not be here, Neji. I shouldn't be talking to you. All of this is my fault." She sighed.

"Please…I had to see you." He whispered, moving boldly to set a gentle hand on her shoulder.

The woman sighed, looking unhappy. Her slate brown eyes were closed and secretive, the long lashes curling fetchingly against her cheek. Anko chewed her lip, looking a little panicked, and looked at his hand upon her shoulder. Neji expected her to either break it or kiss it, but his one-time lover did neither. She moved back, retreating smoothly and beckoned for him to follow.

"Ask whatever you want. I will give you what information I can." She said, her posture firm and authoritative.

Neji sighed in relief and moved to sit beside her on the narrow couch. Anko, hyper as ever, bustled about shoving socks behind cushions and making tea. Neji tried to compose his thoughts. He had so many questions, so many secret worries, he wasn't even sure where to start.

"What about the sex…" He began.

"Lie there and take it. Make all the appropriate noises, most people don't know the difference." She said tersely.

"What about…I…my marriage is to be a political one and my leader wants me there in the capacity of a peace token and also as a spy. How do I get information without giving away my purpose?" Neji asked, tone soft and respectful.

Anko's mouth tightened and she glared hard at the tea kettle like she would set it on fire. Neji bit his lip, unsure what exactly had upset her.

"That part is easy. You just have to tell the person you are seducing a few kind of intimate things about yourself. Nothing damning, just little, private things…You give secrets like pieces of candy and it is so sweet that sooner or later your lover must reciprocate. They begin to make a habit of it, talking about their own private thoughts, and soon they begin to forget that you are a foreigner in their bed. Soon they will tell you anything." Anko replied, her voice cold.

"Why would you tell a mark any secrets?" Neji asked.

"Because it won't matter. You are going to kill them."

"Oh. I will not be killing…um…the person I am marrying." Neji replied, worried.

"If fucking Hiashi wants you there as a spy, that is what he will expect." Anko replied tightly and the tea cup shattered in her hands.

Neji winced and said nothing as the woman cursed loudly and moved to clean up the mess. She had cut herself and was lapping the blood away with long angry strokes of her strong pink tongue as she worked. Anko was angry, very angry, but Neji was still not sure why.

"God damn Suna china! Breaks if you breathe on it wrong!" She snarled.

"Yeah, it is fragile. Sand makes the thinnest bone china in the world." Neji replied, moving to help her.

"I know that." She groused.

"You're bleeding…" Neji whispered.

"Yeah…" She breathed, guarding her injured hand from him like the appendage might explode.

Neji backed away sighing. Once the situation would have been erotic and she would have offered her hand to him as her eyes grew warm with want. Now there was only fear and self-loathing in the woman's face and posture. Anko looked for a moment as if she might cry, blushing hard, embarrassed. Neji moved to lay a hand against her back, and Anko swatted it away. For a moment they were silent.

"I am speaking to you as a professor." She reminded him.

"I know…but you are hurt." Neji pushed.

"I would rather only one of us be." She replied softly, eyes filled with shame.

"As you want. I also need to know about Jinchuuriki." Neji said coldly, leaning away. Her eyes widened.

"Why would you need to know about them?" She breathed, looking startled.

"I am being married to a Jinchuuriki, as his second subordinate. You once implied that you might know something about that." Neji asked, just a little unkindly.

"Oh Kami…not that…" She whispered.

"What?"

"That is a different situation entirely! Sleeping with a Jinchuuriki is not that same as seducing a mark! What is Hiashi thinking? That…that IDIOT! You shouldn't do that…" She shouted, looking frightened and very pale.

"I have to!" Neji hissed. Anko pressed her lips into an angry, stressed line before her face finally softened.

"Leave. Just run away, I'll help you…"

"Anko! I can't DO that!" Neji shouted, desperate. She sighed, chewing her lip.

"Oh Neji…I'm so sorry." She finally replied, setting her uninjured hand against his face.

"Why? What is so horrible about it? What do you know?" Neji asked, afraid himself. She groaned and looked away.

"I shouldn't tell you this."

"You promised."

"I have never told anyone this before, Neji…" Anko whispered, unsure.

"I have kept all your other secrets." Neji pushed, deeply worried now.

"I suppose…I guess you should know. Jinchuuriki are not human. They can look human and learn to act human, but really, really they aren't. You will never have to give secrets to a Jinchuuriki for them to tell you theirs…"

"Why?"

"Because they don't hide anything. They don't have any secrets." Anko said, smiling sadly.

"Oh…then it's easy. No need for deception at all…" Neji said, smiling nervously.

"Yes, too easy." Anko agreed, keeping her dark, angry eyes glued to the floor.

"I…I'm not sure I understand, sensei." Neji replied quietly.

"When a Jinchuuriki sleeps with someone, they do so with complete trust. Maybe that is why they are always so shocked by human cruelty, why every blow is like the first. Jinchuuriki love completely or hate completely, there is nothing in between when the situation is one they know well." Anko explained.

"So…when Gaara first came to Konoha, the way he was when we were younger…"

"Yes. He hated his village completely because someone had taken the time and effort to teach him to do so. They hurt him, betrayed him and lied to him and, because every hurt is just as fresh as the first to a Jinchuuriki, they finally taught him to treat them all as enemies. He was practically a sociopath. Then, when he fought with Naruto, his perspective changed and now he must love completely. Now he would offer up his life for Sunkagure, for any Suna ninja, without a second thought. The very people who almost broke him, Gaara now protects and loves with everything that he is. That is just how they are." Anko whispered sadly, shrugging.

"Sensei…how do you know this…no one knows this…"

"Does it really matter?" She asked.

"I want to know. Please!" Neji pressed.

"Once, when I was barely more than a child, Orochimaru took me to a country far, far in the west. We travelled for days, almost a year, and then we came to a city amidst vast grasslands. He told me to watch and listen, to tell him all that I saw. He told me to make her love me and then he gave me to a Jinchuuriki…" Anko whispered, eyes dark and shuttered with pain.

"W…What…?"

"Yes. She was the vessel of a great leopard demon, Kageneko, a six tailed beast of the grasslands. I was her third subordinate. She took me because she knew that Orochimaru was a powerful shinobi, not to be offended, and because she needed one of the medicines he had made to save her people from a terrible plague. She was told our marriage was a gesture of good will. What she did not know was that he had started the plague himself in order to blackmail her and plant a spy."

"What did he want?"

"The demon, he took them to fuel his experiments. I was 14." Anko said tonelessly, her expression distant.

"That's horrible…" Neji gasped, genuinely disgusted.

"No. That's the worst part. It wasn't horrible." She said, shutting her eyes tight.

"But…how…?"

"She was kind to me. She loved me. Every day, I would wake up and the other subordinates would tell me that I was so cute, so beautiful. No one had ever said that to me before. My sensei always lamented that fact that I was so ugly, too homely to ever hope to use my looks as a distraction during assassination. Even though her skin was so dark and her eyes so strange, she never made me feel worthless or afraid, not even once."

"But…Sensei…"

"I guess she pitied me, married so young to a monster who could barely even speak the same language. My alpha did everything she could to make me happy. Her mate, he was a tall man the color of ebony wood, treated me more like a daughter and taught me how to play music. She said I was too young to 'rest with him' like my co-wives could. How could she know that Orochimaru had already made me 'rest' with people before? That I had already had an education in seduction…and murder?" Anko whispered, her voice catching.

"Anko…"

"She dressed me up, just like a doll, and when she kissed me I felt…I felt like something precious. I had never gotten to just be a child before, but she insisted that I should. It was only my youth that saved her for so long, that made her hesitate…My alpha was the one who taught me to hunt elephants and how to always find water. She wanted me to survive, no matter…no matter what happened. On my fifteenth birthday, she made love to me because I begged her to…and once we had had become lovers…My master killed her." Anko said, the tears finally dripping from her eyes.

"You…you loved her…?" Neji whispered, taken aback.

"I practically worshipped her."

Neji was in shock. He had known that, as Orochimaru's pupil, Anko had been called upon to do terrible things, but…even as a child…He shuddered. The snake sannin had forced Anko, a fourteen year old girl, to fall in love with a Jinchuuriki and then help him kill her.

"Did…Did you do it?" Neji asked, feeling dizzy.

"No. I loved her too much and I was in her thrall. Orochimaru was too clever to trust in the loyalties of a stupid child so one night he came and took me. He poisoned me. When she saw that I would die, my alpha was willing to do anything, give anything to save me. Sensei told her that the poison was fatal without his antidote…" Anko whispered, voice raw with hurt.

"So…he lied to distract her…" Neji guessed, feeling sick.

"No. There was no lying. All he had to do was make her love me and then threaten my life. Because she was a Jinchuuriki, because she loved completely, she let him take the demon and…died when it was gone." Anko hissed, sobbing and angry

"I'm…so sorry." Neji whispered, stunned.

"When she died…it was like a part of my mind was torn apart. The thrall…I had forgotten what it felt like to be alone in my own head. I screamed and screamed, but no one heard me because I wasn't screaming out loud. I was catatonic for almost ten days, unable to move, to respond to anything. Her mate died with her and so did the younger subordinate, because they could not live without her inside them, without the thrall. The older one managed to escape with the children…"

"What do you mean by a thrall?" Neji asked, afraid to hear more and yet unable to stop.

"She could possess me, see through my eyes, push my own consciousness aside if she needed to."

"The others couldn't live without that? Without being controlled? It sounds awful…" Neji said, shivering.

"When she did it, when she took me, it was like being wrapped in the arms of someone who loves you, someone greater and stronger than you could ever be. The feeling was like…not being alone in my own head. She could move me, see with my eyes and so…so she understood how I felt…You could never understand it…" Anko moaned, sobbing hard.

"By Kami…" Neji whispered, putting a hand over his mouth.

Anko sat and rocked and sobbed like a little girl, holding her fist tight over her heart. Neji had never seen her cry that way, not even when Anko had ended their love affair. She cried and wailed like a mourner, her sorrow so deep that the feeling made the air thick. Neji swallowed, not sure what to say.

"I…I had the chance to be happy...to be loved. I could have told her what Sensei was planning. She was so strong, unstoppable, I just thought…"

"…that she would be strong enough." Neji finished for her.

"Yes." Anko said.

They were silent for a long time, sitting on the cold tile of Anko's floor. Finally Anko stood, brushing her wild dark hair away from her face, sighing shakily. Neji stood with her, standing quietly, his mind filled with all that she had said and deep foreboding that her words brought. There was no way Hiashi could be planning to do what that bastard serpent, Orochimaru, had done. The Hyuuga clan leader was just worried, maybe even paranoid, but Neji could not believe that he would act so callously. Still, Anko's words made him uncomfortable…

"Thank you sensei, for your time and guidance." Neji finally said, bowing.

"Take care, kid. And Neji…"

"Yes?"

"You don't want to live with that kind of regret. Trust me." Anko whispered and turned away.

OoOoOoO

"Old Fox! Wake up, dammit! I need you!" Naruto shouted into the depths of his own consciousness.

He sat, meditating, on a small mat just inside the bedroom. Sasuke and Sakura were both fast asleep, tangled together on the bed, and he had managed to get up without waking them. Sasuke was curled tightly around the Kunoichi, his body protecting her even in sleep. Sakura was too tired to complain about the dark haired ninja winding himself around her like a snake and, for once, allowed herself to be tied up in his embrace. Poor Sasuke, at least he was finally sleeping. Naruto sighed and focused his attention inward.

Ever since meeting Sai at the tea shop, Naruto had been trying to decide what to think, what to do. All those images, drawn so carefully, filled with such deep and poignant emotion. How could Sai, who barely even knew what a friend was, draw him with such a familiar hand? The sketches had been crafted with depth and care, as if by a lover, not a deeply damaged young man incapable of feeling anything at all. How could he do it over and over and over again if the act meant nothing to him? Naruto took another deep breath through his nose and tried to concentrate. The Kyuubi had been in a rather comfortable almost-slumber since the day of his wedding, but Naruto had no doubt that it would speak if he asked the beast for help.

"Please Fox…" Naruto pleaded.

"Stop shouting, kit! I hear everything you say and being loud is aggravating me!" The Kyuubi snarled from deep within Naruto's soul.

"I need your advice." Naruto thought, more quietly.

"That is a first. Don't you little pink humans know everything already?" Kyuubi groused sarcastically.

"Oh come on! I have no one else to ask and that is your fault!" Naruto seethed.

"Don't make accusations you don't understand. Neither your father nor my vessel died by my actions." Kyuubi hissed, angry.

"Look…I just need to talk to SOMEBODY and you are the only one who might actually KNOW SOMETHING!" Naruto snapped.

"Calm yourself, kit. Everything looks perfectly fine to me. Our female is carrying our child, your subordinate is handling the fire sleep decently, at least considering his history. Nothing is burning down or exploding, no need to panic." The Fox said, sounding annoyed.

"The 'fire sleep'? What the hell is that? Ahhh, never mind! That isn't what I'm worried about anyway!" Naruto shouted, feeling angry.

"You aren't worried for our female or the subordinate?" Kyuubi asked, sounding intrigued despite the creature's tone.

"No…I have to ask you about something else…"

"Ask what you will, kit. Human worries are of little concern of mine." Kyuubi replied, yawning.

"Ugh, you are so ANNOYING!" Naruto hissed.

"I am not the one waking you up in the middle of the night over some vague little human anxiety attack." The Fox said flatly.

"Oh…Fine! Look, I have to ask you about Sai." Naruto said.

"Sai?" The beast replied, sounding vaguely surprised.

"Yes."

"Oh. He is the one who draws his emotions instead of feeling them."

"Uh…yeah. So you saw the drawings." Naruto sighed.

"Yes…but their relevance was lost upon me. I do not understand human constructs well."

"Well…I think that the drawings might mean that he is…well…in love with me."

"Oh."

"Yes, 'Oh'! This is a disaster!" Naruto snapped sarcastically.

"Why?"

"Because I don't know what to do…" The jinchuuriki whined.

"Why must you do anything?" Kyuubi asked, obviously confused.

"Well…cuz I thought…my friend might be in pain…I don't want that." Naruto replied, feeling awkward.

"Kit, many people are in pain because of you, myself included." Kyuubi sniped, obviously confused by the direction of the conversation.

"No! Ah! Stupid fox! That isn't what I'm trying to ask you!" Naruto snapped.

"Then what do you want?" The kitsune grumbled.

"Look, something has me worried. You never mentioned Sai, I mean when you wanted me to take mates…"

"So?"

"So…what do you think of him? Is there some reason why you never brought him up when you were bugging me to take a subordinate?" Naruto asked, resisting the urge to rub at the headache forming between his brows.

"Sai is a juvenile, is he not?" The Fox asked, obviously confused.

"No. He's older than I am by at least a couple months."

"Oh. How strange. He seemed has always seemed so…immature…" Kyuubi muttered, puzzled.

"Look…You once said that I should take two subordinates and Gaara already has three, can we only do that during a heat?" Naruto asked.

"No. Once you are physically mature, you can claim subordinates whenever the opportunity becomes…beneficial. Truly, it is quite bizarre that you only have Sasuke." The Fox said, sounding weirdly judgmental.

"How does that ever end up actually working? I can barely keep Sasuke from killing off the neighbors, much less another subordinate!" Naruto groused, feeling embarrassed.

"They struggle for a while, you exert a bit of authority, and eventually a hierarchy becomes established. Usually they adapt well enough." Kyuubi said, unconcerned.

"Did…did my mother ever take other subordinates?" Naruto asked softly.

"No…she died far too young." Kyuubi said, its voice heavy with some profound and ancient emotion.

"Oh. I didn't know…" Naruto said, feeling suddenly very young and very alone.

"You worry too much, kit."

"I guess so…I think maybe Sai wants to be my subordinate."

"A few drawings gave you this impression?"

"They weren't 'just a few' and yeah! You don't get it cuz anything human is meaningless to you." Naruto snapped.

"Maybe…he is a gifted ninja at least. Not an ideal subordinate, but if you must mate out of pity…" Kyuubi sighed, annoyed.

"Yeah…I don't know what to do." Naruto groaned.

"Speak with your female. She is wise beyond the ways of most humans and will surely be able to help you. She knows Sai well and can judge if it is best to take him into the pack. The decision always ultimately rests with the female anyway."

"You really love Sakura."

"It is rare to find any creature, of any sex, with the depth of courage and affection that she possesses. Even I can recognize her quality." Kyuubi mused, sounding nostalgic somehow.

"Well…that's a pretty good idea. Thanks." Naruto said, feeling better.

"You…you are welcome, silly kit." The Fox replied, sounding almost affectionate.

"There's a lot more to you than I thought." Naruto chuckled.

"You are also more than you seem."

OoOoOoO

Sai lay in bed, staring at the massive mural he had painted on the ceiling, hoping that the images might tell him the secrets his own mind kept hidden. Sai had painted Naruto and the Kyuubi and fire and Sakura and Suna porcelain and glittering jewels and Sasuke too, a great collage of lovingly drawn faces and cruel looking edges. He would have continued painting, adding eternally to the work now stretching across the entire ceiling and down one of the walls, but he had run out of paint. Perhaps that was also a part of the organic nature of the act, being forced to stop by purely material reasons. There was some irony in that and Sai wondered if he had gone completely insane. Regardless, Sai was not interested in leaving the apartment for paints or anything else. Eventually the landlord would find out and be furious and make noise, but Sai did not care. Lately, something had been stirring deep within his psyche, a kind a mental illness so consuming that he could no longer bear to simply ignore it.

The feeling had started quietly as a vague, distant sort of nervous discomfort that came after meeting Naruto and Sakura at the tea house. He had felt ill that afternoon and gone home to lie down, but the hurt only intensified. Days had passed, but time did nothing to dull the ache and Sai still hadn't managed to sleep more than a few hours at a time. The feeling, small and insidious at first, had grown until the pounding agony in his chest eclipsed everything else. Sai was in pain, but the pain was not of a kind that he could understand. He was a ninja and, as such, bore many scars. Sai had been burned, his bones broken, his flesh bruised, slashed, poisoned…none of it had hurt even a fraction of what he suffered now. He closed his eyes and breathed, trying to force the images of Naruto's smile and Sasuke's porcelain skin and Sakura's glittering hair from his mind. Whatever it was his mysterious brain had been hoping for was, in fact, hopeless and he needed to at least accept that.

Perhaps Shino was right, he often was. He was not fit for duty, barely fit even to stand and walk about to mix paint. Nothing in Sai's experience had prepared him for this trial. He was forced to fight an enemy within, one that he may have conquered before, but could not remember. How could he fight if he could not remember what it was to feel and, more importantly, how to stop feeling? If only he had seen the signs earlier and sought help, he might have survived this disease. Tsunade was an excellent doctor and if he went to the hospital, perhaps he could have seen Sakura too. There was no more paint and the mural was still a mystery to him. Death now seemed a certainty.

There was a loud knocking on his door, but Sai made no move to answer it or even call out a response. He sighed and focused on what it meant to be dying. Whoever it was would go away eventually.

"Sai! Dammit! I know you're in there! I know because no one has seen you in almost two weeks!" Shino shouted through the door. Sai shut his eyes.

There was a bit more shouting and then the unmistakable sound of dry wood cracking apart. So Shino was forcing the door, the landlord would definitely be upset. Hopefully, Sai thought, he would be dead by then and the landlord would be stuck with no recourse, but to shout at his corpse. Amazingly, if he were dead, Sai could manage to care less about his rental situation than he already did.

"SAI! You idiot! You were just lying there this entire time and I thought, because no one had seen you that something had…oh Kami…" Shino trailed off as he noticed the ceiling.

"I have been painting." Sai muttered.

"Why…?" Shino asked, looking horrified.

"I don't know. It makes me hurt less and more, but I am trying to understand what it means." Sai replied softly, wishing Shino would go away.

"It just means you are in love. Just like I told you before. You are in love with Sakura and Naruto and…holy shit…is that Sasuke too?" Shino groused, looking startled at a rather revealing painting of Sasuke just above the window.

"He is pretty…like porcelain…"

"You only like him because Naruto likes him! This whole thing is stupid, Sai! Let it go!" Shino shouted.

"Go away." Sai muttered.

"Have you even slept? I know you aren't eating and…the whole ceiling? Shit! Please don't tell me that you have been in here for two weeks…" Shino asked, looking both incredulous and very worried.

"More like one week and three quarters…How do you know if I'm eating?" Sai asked, a little nettled.

"This had GOT to stop! I can tell you haven't been eating because you look terrible! By Kami! You have to stop painting because…because you always paint THEM and it is driving you crazy! It is driving ME crazy!" Shino barked, obviously upset.

"I did stop. I am out of paint."

"That is NOT what I meant, dammit! Ahhh! I am dragging your ass to the hospital because…because you are obviously SICK! VERY SICK! DAMMIT!" Shino railed.

"It is too late. I am already dying." Sai said, looking into Shino's flushed and furious face.

"You aren't dying! You are just lovesick and obsessive and…and OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND!" Shino roared.

"I had considered that." Sai mused.

"I am taking you to the hospital! Now!" Shino snarled.

"Well, if you think that they can still save me…"

"Someone has to!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth of Sakura's illness is revealed and Sai is accepted, grudgingly, into the pack.

Most of the beings rightfully considered to be demons maintain the highly independent habits and solitary, nomadic customs common to the majority of large predators. To true demons, and the majority of Hanyou as well, the considerations of family and young are secondary to the whims of the creature itself. Jinchuuriki, however, are tied to and fully dependent upon the stability of their family units for their own sanity and survival. The pack, though a hierarchical social structure, is unique in that the alpha puts the welfare of his or her subordinates and young above all other concerns. Completely devoted to the happiness of both mates and offspring, the Jinchuuriki is easily blinded to external threats to his or her person alone. Jinchuuriki are bound intrinsically to the harmony of their packs and are, therefore, most vulnerable when chaos or discord disrupt the delicate balance of their family structure.

Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons

Naruto paced, feeling nervous, just outside the bathroom door as Sakura was sick for the bizzilionth time that morning. Her morning nausea had only gotten worse and lately the girl could barely drag herself out of bed for her hospital shifts. Naruto winced as the sounds of another round of dry retching filtered through the thin bathroom door. She should not be this sick, there was no way puking that much could be normal. Naruto sighed, reaching for the door handle and pulling his hand away once again. Sakura's moods were unpredictable and last time he had gone to her while she was sick, the girl had practically bitten his head off. Naruto wanted to help, but making Sakura mad only seemed to make everything worse. The jinchuuriki groaned and continued his pacing.

Sasuke sat moodily on the tatami mats with his tea and his books, trying to look unconcerned and failing miserably. The dark haired ninja had been reading the same line of his technique scroll for the past hour, eyes glued to the bathroom door as if he could burn it down through sheer force of concentration alone. The circles beneath Sasuke's eyes were bruise-like and ghastly in the gentle light of the room. The dark haired ninja was not sleeping, resting only a couple hours at a time, vigilant and twitching at every shadow. Naruto felt torn, constantly worrying about whether or not Sasuke could die from sleep deprivation and wondering if Sakura really was as 'fine' as she insisted. The jinchuuriki choked back a sudden flash of panic, clenching his fists and trying to master his emotions. Perhaps Sakura would have said that he was nervous, but the feeling was so much worse than mere anxiety. Naruto felt as if the level ground, the very Earth itself, that he had come to depend upon for any kind of solace was tipping precariously beneath him. Everything was falling apart.

The jinchuuriki could not shake the sensation that something was desperately, horribly wrong with both of his mates. Sasuke was an excellent soldier and, like all truly great ninja, he had always been able to sleep when and where he could. Naruto had once watched him catch a few hours of sleep in the middle of a pitched battle! Now Sasuke, his impervious Sasuke, was walking the halls of their home at all hours of the night like a maddened spirit, hunting for spies and assassins. Sakura, ever fiery, was even more easily pushed to anger as the pregnancy progressed and Sasuke's paranoia had been the topic of many passionate arguments between the two of them. To make matters worse, Naruto was still worried about what might be happening with Sai. He had not managed to find any kind of real resolution to the problem and the sensation that he had missed something really important nagged at his mind. Sai was an odd person even at the best of times, but there was something markedly and disturbingly different about his behavior. Sai never drew the same thing more than once or twice, but in his book Naruto had seen dozens of portraits of himself and Sakura. The whole thing set Naruto on edge and at a time where he already had more than enough to occupy his mind.

Naruto chewed hard on his lip, listening to Sakura groan and watching Sasuke twitch and wondering if he was just going to start screaming. He had to talk to them, he had to do something or everything he loved could be destroyed. Talking to Sasuke had lately become almost impossible and so the only course left was direct action. Direct action was something Sasuke understood, but Sakura would be furious… He took a breath and tried to think, one thing at a time.

Master Jiraiya had often counseled him to approach an uncertain situation at its periphery, working ever closer to the true root of the danger. If he could just figure out for certain what the hell was going on with Sai, then perhaps the revelation might cast some light onto Sasuke's odd behavior. As for Sakura…the time for thinking was growing short, but at least then he could eliminate an additional source of stress. Naruto wondered briefly if talking to Sasuke about Sai might at least help him to stop worrying about the artist and decided that he enjoyed breathing too much to risk it. He had been chewing on the problem and trying to find an appropriate moment to take Kyuubi's advice and ask Sakura about it for over a week. No time was ever ideal. Either she was running off to deal with some kind of trauma emergency at the hospital or fast asleep or being violently sick. He sighed.

The whole thing was stupid. Naruto needed to concentrate on Sakura and Sasuke, but Sai had still been a teammate and a close friend. Something about all those portraits nagged heavily on his mind, making everything else seem even more unstable than it already was. Naruto needed to understand, to be sure. The other man was certainly not the most functional person he had ever known and had trouble with people even at the best of times. The idea that something very pertinent to both himself and his mate might have escaped his notice seemed more and more likely. Sakura groaned from within the bathroom and Naruto decided that one hour and thirteen minutes of dry heaving in solitude was more than enough. He opened the door, finding his wife in a pale, sweaty, miserable sprawl on the floor.

"Sakura…" He whispered.

"Go away…I'm not done yet…" She groaned.

"Sakura…I want to call Tsunade." Naruto whispered, coming to kneel beside her.

"Don't…you…dare…" She hissed, still managing to sound scary even while whispering around a throat made raw by vomiting.

"She can help you! Come on!" Naruto urged.

"I don't need any help. This is normal. It is like this for everyone. Leave me alone." The girl muttered sullenly into the tiles of the bathroom floor.

"I'm not going anywhere! Please, Sakura, just let Tsunade do a couple tests or…something. Maybe it is normal, but there has to be something we can do! I'm really worried!" Naruto whined.

"It'll pass…just a few more weeks…" Sakura argued stubbornly.

"You need to see a doctor. Now." Naruto said, crossing his arms.

"I AM a doctor."

"You aren't an obstetrician! Stop being stupid!" Sasuke snapped from the adjoining room.

"Shut up Sasuke!" Sakura snarled.

"He's right, something could be seriously wrong…"

"I'm FINE dammit!" She bellowed.

"You are not! You can't even hold down water!" Sasuke shouted, obviously worried and now angry as well.

"Teme, you aren't helping…" Naruto groaned.

"I make the decisions about my body, by Kami! Not Tsunade, not Naruto and definitely not YOU!" Sakura snarled back at Sasuke.

"I don't want to watch my wife DIE!" Sasuke roared.

"Sakura…please…" Naruto pleaded.

"No dammit! Close the fucking door!" She snapped.

"Dobe! Grab her and take her to Tsunade before she vomits up a major organ!" Sasuke snarled, coming to stand beside Naruto's shoulder like an avenging shadow.

"Honey…seriously, you can't just go through all of this without seeing the doctor…" Naruto offered softly, hoping to appeal to her reason.

"If it were me, or dead-last here, suffering this way…would you just sit there and do nothing?" Sasuke snarled. Naruto ran a shaking hand over his face.

He did not want to see what would happen if Sakura and Sasuke chose that moment to fight. Lately they were always fighting and the strife wore on him almost like a physical thing, like a rusty blade against his mind. The behavior just wasn't normal. He fought with Sasuke almost constantly, but Sakura usually managed to diffuse the raven haired ninja's temper or ignore his barbs before the argument got out of hand. Now, however, with her nerves raw and her hormones making her sick, Naruto did not have much hope that she would resist slapping him at the very least. An all-out brawl between the two of them was rare, but certainly not something a poor, innocent baby would ever want to be caught in the middle of. Sakura bared her teeth at Sasuke, furious, but unable to dismiss his logic.

"I'm a woman. I can handle it." She spat.

"That is sincerely the stupidest thing I think I have ever heard you say!" Sasuke shouted.

"Everyone, let's calm down…" Naruto said, smiling and moving his arm across the portal to keep Sasuke from storming through into the bathroom.

"Fuck you! She is wasting away in front of our eyes and you want me to be CALM?" Sasuke railed.

"Maybe if you weren't such a freak about letting me go OUT!" Sakura shouted.

"Hey…let's not get into that again…it's okay…" Naruto hedged trying to head off the argument.

"What does going out have to do with anything! You are safer HERE!" Sasuke spat.

"Fine! Then I guess going to Tsunade is out of the question…" Sakura replied tartly.

"Perfect! Baka can bring her here!" Sasuke hissed, crossing his arms. Sakura snarled, low and furious.

"Actually…I think going to the hospital is a better idea…" Naruto said, almost pleading.

"I said NO DAMMIT!"

"You stupid…stupid…GIRL!" Sasuke shrieked.

"STOP it!" Naruto shouted, finally losing his temper.

The heavy thrum of the thrall quieted Sasuke and Naruto could feel his subordinate's body quivering hard against his own as the pleasure of the thrall pulsed through him. He knew that Sasuke would be furious, that he hated how the thrall forced him to feel when he was upset. In the throes of the influence, Sasuke could only feel the nagging desire to obey and the intense euphoria that came from his submission. The effect of the link made a lie of his rage. Naruto regretted the words as soon as he said them, but the small, pounding, confused part of his mind was so very grateful for the respite. He should have waited, worked things out calmly, but he just could not TAKE the fighting any longer. Naruto took a shuddering breath and then another.

"Sakura…please go to the doctor, I can't bear it to see you this way…" He whispered.

"I am not going out where everyone can see me like…like this… I'm NOT!" Sakura shouted, bursting in tears.

His eyes widened. She had been avoiding help just…just because she did not want to look weak? The girl cried for a few minutes and the tension in the air began to ease a fraction. Sasuke was no longer shaking, his dark eyes focused on Sakura, deep and intense and trying to understand. Sakura was rarely mysterious, but Naruto still felt as though he had been lied to on some level. She had somehow managed to mask the fact that her true hesitancy to seek any kind of outside help was because of how she looked.

"Oh…" Naruto said, finally beginning to understand.

"Tch…stupid. You are beautiful." Sasuke hissed softly, the anger slowly draining from his face.

Sakura cried harder, trying to hide her face in her sleeves, her body shaking. By Kami, when had she gotten so thin? Naruto could feel her bones through the thin silk of her kimono as he laid his hands on her shoulders. The jinchuuriki swallowed hard, feeling dizzy as he really looked at his wife. The rose haired kunoichi was always beautiful to him, devastatingly beautiful, and perhaps that was why he had not really seen the change before. Sakura had looked nauseas and sick for several weeks, but somehow she had managed to hide the fact that she was losing weight. He hadn't even paused to wonder why she suddenly seemed to prefer heavy kimonos over the fitting high collared dresses she usually wore. His fingers shook against her and Sakura made an angry noise, shoving Naruto's hands away as he tried to embrace her. The jinchuuriki sighed, feeling panicked, glancing up to where Sasuke still stood leaning against the door frame. The dark haired ninja shrugged, but there was nothing confident in his posture. He was worried about her. Both of them were and something had to be done.

Naruto stood, feeling almost like crying himself and resisting the urge because he firmly believed that only one of them should ever by totally hysterical at a given time. Sasuke pushed past him into the bathroom, silently gathering the sobbing girl up into his arms. Sakura accepted the touch and Naruto practically sighed in relief. He needed a moment to stand quietly and try to stop freaking out. He had failed her somehow, he should have seen, he should have known what she was thinking. Her appearance was really the only thing that she was ever insecure about and looking the way she did now…it was no wonder she was upset. She looked sick and tired and Naruto knew how much she hated for others to think that she was weak. He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. Everything would be alright, he would MAKE it alright. Sakura was strong, she would be oaky, and Tsunade would know what to do.

Sasuke held her in his arms, stroking her hair with firm, but gentle strokes as Naruto managed to find his composure again. The jinchuuriki almost wanted to shout at her, to tell her that if anything happened to her that he would simply DIE. Naruto wanted rail at her for being so stupid, hiding things just because of how she looked. Still, Naruto mastered his temper and knelt beside his mates as they embraced. They stayed that way for a while, saying nothing and trying to calm the quivery fear strung like spider silk between them. Bit by bit, Sakura's sobbing calmed and the angry flush left Sasuke's cheeks.

She had always been so worried about what other people thought about her. The opinions of her peers mattered to Sakura, what they thought of her face, her body, her strength, was deeply important to her. Sakura was a proud woman, strong and confident in her work and lovemaking, but she had been deeply insecure about her appearance for as long as Naruto had known her. Now, pale and sick and at her weakest, she only wanted to hide. He could sympathize with the idea, knowing her as well as he did, but that did not mean it made any damn sense. Naruto knew what was happening, everything actually made perfect sense, but he struggled with the thought nonetheless. The terror of facing some kind of immaterial judgment from other people was not something he had ever known. Naruto had experienced the deep pain of being hated and feared and the aching isolation such prejudice brought. He had always wanted to be liked, but the jinchuuriki had never really been afraid of what others might think, not like Sakura was.

Naruto sighed and motioned to Sasuke to pick their wife up off the floor. Sasuke complied quickly, rising with the perfect grace of an exceptional ninja, even with his burden. Sakura turned her face away from Sasuke's collar to glare at him. Naruto glared back, but still stroked her cheek affectionately.

"I'm not going." She snarled softly.

"Yes, you are. Believe it." Naruto replied, softly but in a tone that left no room for argument.

"Tsunade is my sensei…I don't want her to see me like this…" Sakura moaned, miserable.

"I'll burn out her eyes then." Sasuke replied with perfect seriousness.

OoOoOoO

Sakura laid back against the stiff sheets of the hospital bed, trying to find a comfortable position. Her belly ached badly from the constant retching and her back ached as well, but at least her stomach was feeling mostly stable. Even though she knew that the entire argument was utterly foolish, she was still angry at Sasuke and Naruto for dragging her into the clinic. Sakura was not about to go whining to her sensei over a little bit of morning sickness of all things, not when she had worked so hard to gain Tsunade's approval. Everyone would think that she was weak, pathetic. The girl struck her fist sullenly against the sheets, listening to the unpleasant crunch of sterile bedding washed with too much starch. Damn hospital beds were absolutely intolerable unless you were dying and even then she often wondered how her patients managed to stand them. Even worse than the sheets and gossipy nurses and the indignity of an ultrasound was the fact that she was hopelessly bored. Tsunade had not managed to find time to speak with her in person yet, having been called away to help with a training accident, and Sakura knew that it could be hours until her sensei could see her.

Tsunade had ordered a few basic tests and now the only thing left to be done was wait for the results. Sakura grumbled. She really should not have even needed any kind of care for another two months at least. Naruto was just being paranoid and Sasuke was even worse. All women got sick, all women threw up, her men had gotten angry and upset over nothing. They worried too much and while Sakura appreciated the concern, she would have preferred to be sick in the privacy of her own home. She sighed, measuring the distance to the bathroom just in case and wondering if she should try to meditate. If Sakura hadn't been bodily dragged from the house, she might have had the foresight to bring a medical journal to read or at least some meditation balls to practice her dexterity.

As it was she had the white of the walls and the indignant beeping of the monitor on her heart and nothing more. True, she could call for Naruto and Sasuke, but Sakura was not sure she wanted to risk the chance of another argument in the middle of her work place. Naruto was prone to anger when he was upset and Sasuke was either angry or sleeping, in any case a bad combination. A familiar nurse came into the room, nodding casually to her and Sakura managed a smile for the woman. Una was one of her favorite nurses after all and Sakura resisted the urge to sulk in front of one of her best assistants.

"How are you feeling, Doctor?" Una asked, smiling brightly.

"Basically like utter crap, you?" Sakura said, shrugging.

"Hmmm…better than you, I'd say, but my feet have seen better days." The woman sighed, making a show of rubbing her ankle.

"Have you been busy? I haven't been called…" Sakura asked, curious.

"Oh, no, there hasn't been any trauma…well not including that training accident just now. Things in the trauma ward have been pretty mellow. We just have a kind of weird psychiatric case and everyone has been running ragged over that." Una replied, moving efficiently as she spoke to check the monitors.

"A psyche case? Who?" Sakura asked, surprised.

"I can't tell you that!" Una sniffed, looking affronted.

"Oh come on! You know I can just find out through the main database next time I'm working. I'm not usually here as a patient you know…" Sakura pushed, crossing her arms.

"Doctors make terrible patients." Una replied, rolling her eyes.

"The worst. Now spill." Sakura said with a wicked smile.

"Well…it's Sai." Una finally relinquished.

"Sai?"

"Yeah, he's managed to develop some kind of intense obsessive compulsive habit…"

"He's drawing." Sakura replied, feeling cold.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Una asked, one slender eyebrow raised suspiciously.

"He was on my team for a while, drawing is just what Sai does…" Sakura sighed, somehow feeling even sicker than before.

"I'll say. He doesn't eat, he doesn't sleep, he just draws all day and all night and he is thoroughly convinced that he's dying too. I always knew that Root's methods were unethical and this just proves it. Poor kid is completely unhinged…" Una huffed, shaking her head.

"Sai? Unhinged? I doubt that." Sakura said.

"Well, you're the only one who thinks so. Tsunade has him on suicide watch."

"That's ridiculous, Sai would never kill himself. She is misinterpreting the problem. He's probably just stuck on some kind of social issue, he doesn't have any coping skills where people are concerned…" Sakura mused.

"Last time I checked, you were a surgeon not a shrink…"

"I have my moments." Sakura shrugged.

"Ponder if it keeps you entertained. Tsunade-sama will not be back for at least an hour and she has specifically instructed that your case be left to her personally." Una replied.

"That is very kind of her." Sakura said.

"No, just selfish. She can't afford to lose her best surgeon." Una said with a smirk.

Sakura smiled as Una left, giving the nurse a friendly wave as she bustled away looking only mildly har]rassed. As soon as she was alone again, Sakura let the expression slip from her face and began to dissect what Una had said. The situation just did not make sense to her, but she had a strong suspicion that whatever had spooked Naruto so badly in the teahouse more than a week ago was related. Sai was always drawing, he had been sketching in every free moment for as long as she had known him, but Sakura had never known him to draw the same thing over and over again. In many ways, Sai was a bit like a blind, if totally deadly, child. He was easily distracted by any subject that coaxed even the vaguest stirring from his soul. Root had taught him to feel nothing and so Sai had no emotions, but there was no training in the world that could just make a person's feelings go away. Even Sai had an outlet and if he was drawing compulsively, it could only be because he was suffering some kind of terrible emotional pain.

Staring up at the pale green blankness of the ceiling, Sakura could almost see how it might work. He would try to repress the emotion, whatever it was, with work and with training, but in the quiet moments Sai would fall apart. The only way that the pale ninja ever fell apart was to draw, to sketch until his hands bled. Art was the only way that Sai could understand his own reactions to other people, without it he lived in a vacuum. The behavior might seem crazy to someone else, but Sakura knew that all Sai was trying to do was understand what it was he was feeling. Most ninja worked their entire lives to achieve what Sai had been taught as a very young child, to totally dissociate from their emotions. Ironically enough, the paradigm of ninja perfection was happened to be hopelessly flawed. When she had first met Sai, she had loathed him, convinced that he was nothing more than a soulless monster. He seemed like nothing more than a human weapon. However, the truly awful part about it was that he was not an empty shell at all, was just caged and longing to be free. Sakura felt the old anger at Root rise up within her breast thinking about the days when they had been a team. Sai was fearless, ruthless, almost perfect in battle. He was practically impervious to pain and totally objective in his tactical decisions, but unable to understand people's desires and motivations. He could react to a situation, but never predict how his opponents might behave. Sai was baffled by ideas of love, loyalty and sacrifice for anything other than Root, at least until Naruto taught him differently.

The girl bit her lip, thinking a moment and letting her eyes dart to the door. True, she was only dressed in a hospital gown, but they had left her a robe and Sai had seen her in less. He was in trouble and she was one of the very few people who might understand how to help him. Being team mates did not lend itself very well to personal privacy, especially during a mission, so a frumpy hospital gown shouldn't be too much of an issue. Knowing Sai, he probably wouldn't even notice. He was in trouble, he needed her and no one else, except for maybe Naruto, would have the faintest idea what was happening inside his head. Sakura had plenty of time, maybe even hours, before Tsunade returned and nothing else to do. Sai was obviously being mismanaged and she would be ignoring her duty as both a doctor and a friend if she didn't at least try to help. True, she was a trauma surgeon and not a psychologist, but whoever was treating him obviously had no idea what was going on. Naruto was too busy having a total meltdown over her health to help and Sasuke…She frowned. Sasuke would really hate the idea of her sneaking around the hospital alone and unprotected, but, dammit, this was HER hospital!

Decision made, Sakura rose carefully to her feet and put on the robe that was lying draped and ready over a chair. Standing made her feel a little bit dizzy and she knew she was probably dehydrated, but the feeling only lasted a few moments. She could have spared her bare feet the chill of the tile floor, but disdained the hospital issue slippers for the noise they might make. Carefully, quietly, she crept to the door and out into the blissfully empty hallway. For whatever reason, the obstetrics section of the hospital was in the same wing as the psych ward, probably because expectant mothers sometimes suffered depression. She had rarely worked in either of the two departments and so was grateful, at least, that she would not have too much ground to cover trying to find Sai.

Moving silently as only a ninja can, she slunk out into the hall, blending easily into the slender shadows thrown out onto the floor by the abutting ultrasound equipment cart. Ninja rarely had either pregnancies or debilitating psychiatric disorders and so the ward was quiet and relatively empty. Sakura paused to lean heavily on the wall, fighting the weakness and nausea that seemed ever ready to overtake her. She should have taken a moment to check a directory before leaving her room, getting lost in this part of the hospital was not impossible. After a brief rest, she was moving again, senses alert for any staff that might spot her. Sneaking around the nearly deserted psych ward of the hospital hallways was ironic since she practically ruled the trauma theater and she almost giggled.

Thankfully, the walk to the other section of the hospital was short and swift and none of the staff saw her. Sakura wished she had Sasuke's sharingan. Without being able to see Sai's chakra or see a chart with his name, she had no idea which room he might be in. The girl paused, wiped her forehead and looked around. A long row of patient rooms, each equipped with a solid lock, lined the walls. She cocked her head. Only one of the many rooms had light shining from the narrow window. Sakura laughed under her breath and wondered if it might really be that simple.

As she approached the brightly lit window of the room, Sakura felt more and more convinced that Sai was close by. The sharp scent of all-purpose cleaner rose pungently into the air as she neared the portal and the unmistakable sound of a pencil upon paper drifted was clearly audible. Just as she had with Naruto and Sasuke, the girl had learned Sai's presence not only by sight but by using all the stimuli available to her. More than instinct, she had known her teammates by the sound of their breathing, the energy they cast into the air and their pattern of motion. As ninja, knowing the members of one's team by all that they were and not just sight was vital. In the chaos of battle or the silent blackness of a deep night operation, sight was an unreliable sense when it was available at all. She had come to recognize the way Sasuke rose to the balls of his feet when preparing to move and how Naruto held his breath when watching a target. Sai was the same, always moving without even the slightest hint of hesitation, heels placed solidly any time he did taijutsu. The sound she heard was Sai's pencil, charcoal if she wasn't mistaken, and it was as specific to her as the man's fingerprint.

Smiling victoriously, Sakura quickly typed her physician's code into the automated lock on the door. The lock beeped tersely at her and did not open. She frowned. Apparently whoever was overseeing Sai's case had changed the lock from the global hospital code to a specific number. Undeterred, Sakura bit her finger and drew a quick blood seal over the keypad. Instantly, finger prints marking the appropriate set of numbers appeared, glowing soft in the chakra haze she had cast. Sakura typed in the code and opened the door. Sai was sitting on his heels, drawing furiously, totally absorbed in the act and oblivious to her presence. He looked thin and shabby and even more starkly pale than usual. His fingers, scraped raw from constantly drawing, had bled and scabbed and bled again until his hands were a mass of dry looking sores. She winced, fingers tight over her lips to stifle the startled gasp. Even Sakura, who knew the artist very well, was shocked by how bad the problem had gotten.

"Sai. Are you okay?" She asked, carefully leaving the door ajar.

"Sakura…?" He asked, looking up at her with wide, surprised, bloodshot black eyes.

"What's the matter with you? What's going on?" She asked, utterly shocked by his appearance.

"Are you…are you real or am I dreaming again?" He asked carefully.

"I'm real." She asserted, even more worried than before.

"Oh…yes, you must be. In my dreams you never look so sick or skinny." He remarked dryly, smiling his own true, happy smile.

"Thanks." She snapped, rolling her eyes and pulling the hospital robes more tightly around her body.

"You are still beautiful." He replied, as if it was merely a fact, studying her closely.

"Um…Thank you." She replied, blushing hotly.

"Hmmm…now there is even more pink…very beautiful…" Sai muttered.

"Sai! You aren't making any sense!" Sakura shouted.

"You are here." He said, moving to stand, still smiling.

"Yes."

"I have wanted to see you. I hoped I might see you. Why are you here? Are you crazy too?" He asked, cocking his head to survey her more critically.

"No, not really. I'm pregnant." She replied with a shrug.

"Oh. A baby?"

"Yes, that is generally what being pregnant entails." Sakura said, crossing her arms.

"I am aware, is it uncomfortable?" He asked.

"Very." She said with smile.

"Oh." He replied, staring at her belly with focused interest.

"Sai…" She began, making an awkward swishing motion with her hand to deter his gaze.

"Is it Naruto's or Sasuke's?" He asked, blinking.

Sakura was taken aback by the question. Typical of Sai, the inquiry had all the tact of a runaway freight train and no malice whatsoever. The artist was fond of insulting people to see what their reactions might be, but he had long ago learned that baiting Sakura was an excellent way to end up with fractured facial bones. She knew that he had asked out of honest curiosity and nothing more, except perhaps an attempt to be friendly.

"Um…I don't know." She replied, biting her lip.

"Is that bad?" He asked, rubbing at the dark circles beneath his eyes.

"No. I don't think that it's bad. It doesn't really matter anyway." Sakura finally said with a shrug.

"Oh. That's good." Sai replied, staring at her as a drowning person might look at land.

"Sai, I'm here to talk to you. Why do they think you are going to kill yourself?" Sakura asked, setting a gentle hand on his arm.

"I don't know, but it doesn't really matter. I'm dying anyway." He replied in the tone of someone totally resigned to the inevitable.

"Dying? Of what?" Sakura asked, raising a dubious eyebrow.

"Love, I think."

"Love?"

"That's what Shino says about it."

"What? How can anybody possibly die of love! That's ridiculous!" Sakura snapped, hands on her hips.

Sai shrugged, still smiling and began staring earnestly at her belly again. The behavior was unnerving to say the least. With a long suffering sigh the girl put a firm hand over his eyes, but Sai did not protest. Instead, he sighed gently at her touch and Sakura felt something hot and very startling turn over in her belly at the sound. Blushing, the girl pulled her fingers away as if burned. Maybe he was crazy, she thought. Sai had certainly never acted this way before…Sakura snarled under her breath, frustrated by his seemingly incomprehensible thinking and strange reactions. No wonder everyone was convinced that her old team mate was having some kind of psychiatric episode. Still, Sai wasn't stupid or crazy and the fact that he wasn't making any sense was less an indication of madness than it was evidence of some third variable, as yet unknown. There was an likely an important piece of information that everyone had been missing. Sakura tapped her foot, trying to unravel what in the hell he could be talking about. She had a headache, and Sai's apparent break with reality was only making it worse, but all her seething affected him the same way a light breeze might a rock. He waited patiently, cheerful and completely impenetrable.

"How can love kill a person?" She finally asked.

"I am not sure. Truly, there is nothing logical about it. Perhaps my mind is being fooled into killing my body by some kind of jutsu, perhaps I am being poisoned, there is no way to know for sure, but Shino insists that I am in love." Sai said, his flat tone analytical and cool even as his cheeks filled with color.

"How would you even know what being in love feels like?" She asked.

"I don't know."

"Well…What do you feel?" Sakura asked softly, even more worried than she had been before.

"I have pain in my chest, so bad I cannot sleep. I cannot eat. Medicine doesn't help, nothing helps…I draw and the pain is better and…and also worse…" Sai whispered, answering quickly as if he had been asked the same question many times before.

"You draw and that makes it worse…because you feel it more?" Sakura guessed.

"Yes…exactly." Sai said, smiling.

"How long have you been drawing…you know, this way?" The girl asked, gesturing vaguely.

"Almost three years."

Sakura felt her breath catch. Three years, the same amount of time since she had married Naruto and Sasuke. The final piece to the puzzle, the tiny detail that had eluded her sensei and everyone else, could it really be something so…personal? The timing could be mere coincidence, but Sakura could not help feeling as though everything made just a little too much sense. Naruto had seemed so worried after meeting Sai in the tea house that day, he had seen something in the drawings that she hadn't…something that she should have. She had never even imagined Sai to be capable of such depth of feeling, but the nagging suspicion would not go away.

"You draw me." Sakura whispered.

"Yes."

"…and Naruto."

"Yes."

The girl took a deep, trembling breath. She should have known, she should have seen it long before now. Even before Sasuke had returned, even before he had been brought back to Konoha, the tension had been there in the way Sai looked at Naruto. He had gazed at the jinchuuriki as he slept, just watching him breathe and content to do so for hours. When they fought, Sai always moved his body too close, all the way into the sphere of Naruto's personal space, something no ninja would ever do when sparing. Sakura had thought that the behavior was just a new and annoying expression of Sai's utter lack of social skills, she had been too busy trying to anesthetize her entire personality to really care. The girl felt her headache growing worse and barely registered the pain. The feeling, it had been there when Sai bandaged her wounds, in the way that his fingers lingered too long against her skin. The profound, hungry, desire had been there in the deepest night when he had pulled her sleep roll against his own, holding her close even when the night wasn't cold. How long had he been that way? The girl stood, quivering and unsteady, looking into the usually stony black eyes of her old teammate and seeing only pain and heat and desperate wanting.

"Are you in love with me? With us…?" Sakura asked, her mouth dry.

"I must be." Sai confessed, finally shifting his ever still eyes away from Sakura's gaze.

"Oh…Kami…" Sakura breathed, suddenly feeling very dizzy.

"I'm sorry…" He began.

"Oh…Sai…" She wanted to say something, but her tongue felt dry and sluggish.

"Sakura? You do not look well…" His voice sounded worried, which for him was as close as he ever came to true panic.

Sai's tone startled her. Sakura shook herself, trying to clear her head, but the vertigo only became worse. She groaned, feeling weak and off balance. Her heart was pounding with both emotion and something more sinister as well. She suddenly felt extremely ill.

"I…I…" Sakura muttered, trying to find the words.

Her headache which, before, had been little more than a nagging pain now thundered deafeningly in her skull. Her vision was dark and fuzzy around the edges. Sai was calling, shouting, trying to speak to her. Sakura wanted to turn her focus to him, it was important, she knew it was important…The world was spinning, too fast to balance and she was falling. Everything was slow, soft, muffled. Her vision was spinning and it made her sick. She could feel Sai's arms around her as he caught her. He lifted her and the vertigo worsened. She had to talk to him, it was important, but Sakura could not get any sound to come out of her mouth. She was falling, sweaty and shocky, everything spinning too fast…The girl fought it, pushed hard against the heaviness, but eventually succumbed to the pull of oblivion.

OoOoOoO

Sasuke could not understand why Naruto found sitting quietly and being still to be so damn difficult. The blond paced and checked his weapons and paced and cracked his joints and paced some more while they waited outside the exam room. He practically exuded nervous frustration, charging the air with prickly emotion the way lightning could charge the atmosphere with electricity. Sasuke sighed. He was worried too, but the dobe's pacing was only making him feel edgy and uncomfortable. Sakura needed them to be strong, to be calm and while Naruto worked on eroding a furrow into the tiles of the hospital floor, Sasuke was fully occupied just trying to keep his own composure from cracking. Nurses came and went, staring at them and especially at Naruto. Sasuke wanted to kill them for the sulky prejudice in their eyes and the haughty way that they quickened their gate as they moved past the jinchuuriki. As for the blond, he was mercifully oblivious, totally absorbed in his worry over Sakura.

Naruto had lived with this, this ignorant hatred, all his life. He had learned to ignore the looks and the whispers, focusing on the things that made him happy and shutting everything else out. Sasuke had never realized how truly agonizing the subtle torture of so many fearful and malicious glances, day in and day out, could be. How Naruto had avoided a future as a raving sociopath, broken down by the endless suspicion and isolation, was beyond Sasuke's understanding. Of the two of them, it should really have been Naruto making war on Konoha instead of him. Sasuke would not have blamed him if he had, he would have understood the sentiment perfectly, but Naruto had never reacted to the small mindedness of the villagers with violence of his own.

The blond managed to overlook the cruelty and the blatant stupidity of others, letting the hate fall off of his skin like rain water. Sasuke had to confess to himself that he could never have been so impenetrable and perhaps, at least in that respect, Naruto was stronger. The jinchuuriki had often told him that he was saved by his friends, the friends who had accepted him and treated him like a person. Sasuke shuddered a little, he had not been much of a friend, but Naruto was even more grateful to his mates. Sasuke smiled a little at that. If he had managed to do anything good in his life, surely being a part of Naruto's salvation had to count for something. The jinchuuriki would be Hokage, as ridiculous as the idea had seemed when they were children, and he would change Konoha completely. Naruto had little patience for the intrigue of the clans and even less for the meaningless warring that often erupted among the ninja kingdoms. He would bring peace, an inexorable kind of peace that would not be held together by the fragile bonds of hope and constant compromise. Tsunade had as much as named him her successor and the blond's record as a ninja was impressive. True, not quite as impressive as his own, but Sasuke was fully aware that his marriage to Naruto was an achievement for the blond in and of itself. Sasuke could have laughed at the thought. So many people wanted to kill him, but only Sakura and the dobe had been stupid enough to marry him.

Suddenly, Naruto stopped his pacing and snapped his head around sharply to look at one of the doors leading down the hallway opposite to Sakura's exam room. Sasuke tensed, watching carefully. The jinchuuriki cocked his head, listening, and his expression was both intent and confused. Sasuke was about to ask what he heard, when the doors closing off the far section of the hospital clearly labeled as the psyche ward burst open. A deafening boom rocked the floor as a blast of hot air surged through the ruined doors, practically throwing Sasuke to the floor. Naruto, who had been standing closer to the hall, fell hard on his side and rolled to avoid the shrapnel spraying through the waiting area. Bits and pieces of the lock that had once barred the heavy steel doors closed clattered jarringly onto the floor as they practically folded themselves open. Sasuke drew his sword, moving quickly to intercept whatever new threat might be coming through those doors and towards his mate. A figure, barefoot and carrying another person, was running headlong towards the shattered portal casting jutsu as he went.

Sasuke snarled, moving swiftly into a fighting stance as Naruto shook his head and tried to recover from the explosion. With the smoke and the debris obscuring the hall, the identity of the person was impossible to discern, but Sasuke did not care. Whoever it was, he would not let them anywhere near his family. With a fierce hiss, Sasuke moved in front of Naruto who was struggling to stand in the wake of the explosion looking dazed and totally perplexed. Sasuke crouched, gathering himself and inhaling deeply, preparing to spit scalding fire at the unknown assailant. In the close quarters of the hospital hallway, fire would be impossible to escape or deter. At the last moment, Naruto's strong hand found his shoulder and jerked him hard to the side, ruining his aim. Sasuke growled as the fire already gathering in his belly smothered prematurely. The hot air rushed through his throat, scorching his mouth, and Sasuke was left coughing impressive plumes of smoke.

His throat was burned and so cursing at the dobe was nearly impossible, but Sasuke made his displeasure known regardless. As Naruto turned, trying to peer through the ruined doorway, Sasuke easily swept his feet out from under him and they landed in a pile. Naruto had been trying to say something, pointing urgently, but Sasuke's patience had reached its limit. He was tired of constantly worrying that his mates might be in danger and helpless to do anything to protect them. The raven haired ninja had no idea what could have possessed Naruto to stop him from eliminating their attacker, but he was fully invested in beating his alpha into a bloody pulp until the thrall forced him to stop.

"Naruto! Sasuke! Help!" Sai called out as he ran towards them.

"Sai!" Naruto shouted just as he caught Sasuke's knuckles squarely in the mouth.

"It's Sakura! She's…She collapsed!" Sai shouted, sounding calm despite the fact that he had practically blown up half the hospital.

Sasuke paused at them mention of Sakura's name, finally focusing on the limp burden Sai carried in his arms. The long pink hair, trailing nearly to the floor, was enough to fill the raven's still smoldering belly with ice. Kami, his wife, she was hurt…The thought practically tore the very breath from his lungs. Naruto coughed loudly, spitting blood from his injured mouth. Sasuke moved to help him up and then they were both running, ignoring the blood and the argument and the shrapnel and everything except the pale girl lying still in Sai's trembling arms.

OoOoOoO

Tsunade decided that, of the members of team 7 assembled in her office, Sakura was probably the least damaged even though she was actually the patient in question. Naruto's clothing was burned black on one side, a dark purple bruise was slowly healing on his jaw and she could tell that he was still mostly deaf in one ear. Sasuke was covered in tiny flecks of blood, presumably Naruto's, and so covered in soot that his pale skin was almost indiscernible. Even though he was smiling pleasantly, Sai had the appearance of a prisoner of war or perhaps a beleaguered refugee. Malnourished, sleep deprived and even more pale than usual, the man looked to be no more than six inches from the grave. Tsunade sighed and re-checked her notes.

"You really should have come to me earlier…" The Hokage said, rubbing her fingers irately across her temple.

"We would have…" Sasuke began, glaring meaningfully at Sakura, who studiously ignored him.

"Sakura does not like being told what to do." Sai noted.

"No one asked you!" Sasuke hissed.

"There isn't anything I could have done differently anyway." Sakura said, looking both scared and nauseas.

"Old Lady…please…" Naruto began, moving to stand beside Sakura.

"Perhaps my opinion would have helped…" Sai said, smiling.

"Help! You blew up half that damn hospital!" Sasuke railed.

"Well? What is the matter?" Naruto asked, glaring at Sasuke.

"The child's chakra is unusually well developed and Sakura's body is rejecting the energy as foreign. Usually a person does not develop their own chakra signature until they are almost four years old. To have a fully developed and individualized chakra pattern in a fetus is almost totally unheard of. I would never have thought that such a phenomenon was even possible." Tsunade explained with a long sigh.

"What do we do to treat this?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm not actually sure…I have only read about something like this happening once before." The Hokage replied.

"I'm sure I'll be fine…" Sakura said patting Naruto's knee.

"You are NOT fine!" Sasuke shouted.

"Of course shouting at her will make it better." Sai muttered sarcastically.

"Why are you even HERE!"

"They think I'm crazy…" Sai replied with a yawn.

"Perfect." Sasuke snapped, crossing his arms.

"Sasuke is right. There has to be something we can do! I can't just watch this happen!" Naruto said, sounding nearly hysterical.

"Naruto, please, it'll be okay…" Sakura whispered, voice soft and concerned.

"I can't lose you…I just…can't." Naruto whispered.

"Wait…are you saying that this could kill her?" Sasuke asked, black eyes wide and fearful.

"Possibly, the risk is definitely something that has to be considered." Tsunade said.

There was a moment of thick silence as Naruto exchanged a frightened look with Sasuke and both men reached forward to hold Sakura's hands. Sai just stared, open mouthed, as if the possibility that Sakura could die had never actually occurred to him before. Tsunade bit her lip. The Hokage had a few ideas about how to help her favorite student, but nothing truly solid. The Hokage loved Sakura almost like a daughter and could not imagine a world without the rose haired woman. Moreover, Sakura had to survive for the sake of Konoha. Without her Naruto's pack would fall to pieces and Tsunade's hopes for the future would be destroyed. Naruto was an ideal choice for Hokage, he loved Konoha and was not affiliated with any of the entrenched clans. The jinchuuriki was powerful enough to rule and he could be both sympathetic and objective to the concerns of all. Without him, the risk of civil war would be tremendous as candidates from each clan vied with each other for the position and authority. Even if another person as strong, kind and temperate as Naruto could be found, the loss of the Sakura would cause even greater problems. Tsunade seriously doubted that Naruto would survive the loss of his mate and, without him, Sasuke would be unhinged, unhindered and utterly unstoppable. She shuddered.

"You have to save her." Sai said softly.

"That is the general idea." Tsunade replied dryly.

"It's just like how it was with Neji, isn't it? Maybe…Maybe we could try something like that, you know, a transfer…" Naruto suggested.

"Basically, she is having a kind of immune reaction to the child's energy. Unless her body can achieve balance with the foreign chakra, she and the baby will both die. She doesn't need more energy Naruto, she needs to try to tolerate the kind she already has." Tsunade explained.

"Oh…" The jinchuuriki whispered, lowering his eyes.

"What about power limiters? Like the kind some demons use…" Sasuke offered.

"Restraining her energy won't help, it's the baby's energy that is the problem and if the child is expressing such defined chakra patterns, it is likely for a good reason." Tsunade replied, watching Sakura.

The girl looked drawn and very frightened now. Tsunade frowned and wondered if she should have been more delicate about the situation. Naruto was obviously close to panic, with Sasuke only a few heartbeats behind, and Sai seemed to have fallen into some kind of catatonic fit. She groaned. The kunoichi's hesitation to ask for any kind of help had made her angry and not without reason, but now that Sakura was good and scared, ready to listen, the Hokage had to have something to say. Her research into the problem had yielded only a few very old, very vague suggestions, but Naruto was right. Something had to be done.

"I think the best course of action will be for Sakura to avoid any expression of her own chakra. That means that, as of now, you are on maternity leave. You cannot use your chakra to heal or to fight or to create jutsu. Any time your own energy is at the forefront, the rejection will likely grow worse." Tsunade said.

"Six whole months of maternity leave! That's ridiculous!" Sakura shouted rising to her feet.

"We'll do it." Naruto asserted and Sasuke nodded with him.

"But…my patients…" Sakura argued.

"There are many doctors." Sai noted.

"But…" The girl argued.

"Sakura! This is not the time for misplaced pride!" Sasuke said firmly.

"I…I just. Six months is a long time." Sakura whispered miserably.

"Further, Sakura, you will have to spend significant time meditating and trying to encourage energetic balance within your body. The life of your baby might depend upon the control you can achieve over your own energy. As far as I can surmise, rest and relaxation is really the best approach to a problem of this kind."

"How can we help?" Naruto asked, hopefully.

"Naruto, any kind of stress will make the problem worse, so it is vital that Sakura remain calm. Try to make her environment as…unchallenging as possible." Tsunade recommended.

"I can do that! She'll be fine! I will make everything super nice and quiet and relaxing! Just like a vacation! Believe it!" He replied exuberantly, smiling so wide that his lip split and began bleeding again. Sakura groaned.

"I'm sure…" Tsunade said, eyeing them dubiously.

"I will make sure that no one disturbs her." Sasuke added darkly.

"That would be best." Tsunade agreed, tentatively.

"Great! No problem! Let's go home and start relaxing!" Naruto proclaimed, standing and gesturing enthusiastically to Sasuke.

"Relaxing is not something you 'start', idiot." Sasuke replied.

"Whatever. We'll go home and be calm and everything will be fine!" Naruto announced.

"Sai's coming with us." Sakura said, softly.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at that, but Naruto did not seem to have heard her. Sai turned to look at the girl as if he, too, had not quite heard her. Being still half deaf from the explosion, Tsunade was sure Naruto was having trouble hearing anything at all. The blond was pacing excitedly, obviously eager to leave the hospital and begin Sakura's…er…vacation. The Hokage sat back just in case.

"Sasuke can make dinner tonight. He actually cooks pretty well, if you can get over all the damn vegetables. Vegetables aren't really relaxing food if you ask me, maybe we should get ramen…" Naruto chattered excitedly.

"Sai. I want him…to…to be with us." Sakura said more loudly, blushing hard.

"In what capacity, exactly?" Sasuke hissed suspiciously.

"We can also watch relaxing television and read relaxing books! Kakashi sensei swears by Icha Icha, but I'm not sure if those are really all that relaxing when you think about it…" Naruto continued.

"I want Naruto to take him as a subordinate." Sakura explained.

"You want WHAT!" Sasuke shouted.

"I do realize that being a subordinate involves sex." Sai noted.

"Maybe we could go to a hot spring for a few days. Hot springs are really relaxing, though we'll have to go to one that doesn't require separate bathing areas. Sasuke really doesn't like being too far away from Sakura for too long…"

"Naruto! Dammit!" Sakura shouted.

"What?" The jinchuuriki asked, finally hearing her.

"Sai…" Sakura took a breath, "Sai is in love with us!"

Tsunade was tempted to drop a pin just to see if the old adage was actually accurate. No one spoke, no one even seemed to breathe. Naruto stared, first at Sakura and then at Sai, cocking his head. Sasuke, however, stood and glared at Sai as if restraining himself from imminent murder.

"No." The dark haired ninja growled.

"He is an excellent ninja, he…he will be an asset. He should be with us." The girl said, her voice trembling just a little.

"You can't just dig people out of the psychiatric ward and then decide you want to marry them!" Sasuke shouted.

"Marry?" Sai asked.

"He's only in the psyche ward to begin with because of his feelings…" Sakura argued.

"Sasuke, calm down." Naruto growled.

"He doesn't HAVE feelings!" Sasuke snarled.

"He DOES! He feels EVERYTHING!" Sakura roared.

"I'm not sleeping with that…that…!" Sasuke struggled for an appropriate insult.

"Teme! Stop shouting. We HAVE to stay calm or Sakura will only get sicker." Naruto ordered firmly.

"Fine. Tell her that she's crazy and we can go home." Sasuke snapped.

"Home…?" Sai whispered, almost to himself.

"When I said 'calm', this is not what I meant." Tsunade said, her voice heavy with disapproval.

"I'm calm." Sai said.

"I thought it might be something like this. You have been pretty weird lately and when I saw all those drawings…I wondered." Naruto said softly, looking at Sai critically.

"Nice of you to tell us." Sasuke hissed.

"Baka! I wasn't sure!" Naruto argued.

"Sai wants to be with us!" Sakura asserted.

"What if we don't want to be with him." Sasuke growled.

"Why don't you ask Sai, himself." Tsunade suggested, rubbing at her headache.

Naruto, who had been staring at Sai as if trying to read the artist's mind, bit his lip and then nodded. Sasuke, teeth bared and practically shaking with fury, turned the bloody whirl of his sharingan on Sai. The pale ninja smiled his fake, pleasant smile, but his hands trembled nonetheless. Sakura smiled encouragingly at him, resting her hand kindly on Sai's shoulder.

"I have come to believe that I am in love with you. All of you. Well, not Hokage-sama." He confessed.

"What if you're wrong." Sasuke snapped cruelly.

"Then I am dying. Either way, I want to stay with you, if I may."

"No."

"This is not your decision, Sasuke…" Naruto whispered.

"Idiot! You can't seriously be considering…"

"…It's Sakura's choice." Naruto asserted.

"WHAT!"

"I won't do anything to make her unhappy. Not now, now when…It is her choice." Naruto said, crossing his arms.

"Tsunade said 'calm', not happy! Are you even attracted to him?" Sasuke snapped.

"I…never really thought of him that way before, actually." Naruto replied, blushing hotly.

"Well, I'm NOT!" Sasuke railed.

"You barely know him…"

"I don't WANT to know him!"

"Sai, do you want to come home with us?" Sakura asked gently.

"I…I have never had a home." He whispered.

"Well, except for Sakura, we are all orphans. It's the first home any of us have had." Naruto said, smiling kindly.

"Yes. I want that. I have wanted that very much." Sai whispered, smiling hesitantly.

"You can't be serious!" Sasuke railed.

"Quiet, Uchiha. I believe he is completely serious." Tsunade said.

"I don't care what you believe." Sasuke snarled at her.

"Sai, you have to realize that this won't be like it was before, when we were just a team. Being in love is more than just a feeling, it is a promise that you make. We are a family now, and that means absolute loyalty…" Naruto cautioned.

"I understand." Sai said, nodding somberly.

"Your loyalty can't be just to Root anymore. We have to come first, that is what being part of a family is all about. Can you do that?" Sakura said seriously.

"Root is gone and they left nothing behind. I do not owe Root my loyalty any longer and…you made me wonder if they ever deserved it at all. I am yours, Naruto, if you will have me." Sai stood and bowed deeply.

"It's settled then." Sakura said, smiling, hands on her hips.

"Come on, let's go home. Teme is cooking." Naruto said, smiling so that his eyes squinted entirely shut.

"Fuck you." Sasuke hissed, but turned to follow them anyway.

Tsunade chuckled. Apparently she would have to go find Sai's marriage contract, though only Kami knew where it might be. Root had held the marriage contracts for all of it members, in essence owning them and any children they might produce. The practice was one of the many things she had loathed about Danzo's group, but with Root disbanded and Danzo dead Sai now belonged to her, whether she found the paperwork or not. The Hokage laughed out loud at that and wondered if Naruto would steal all his subordinates from her. As for keeping Sakura calm and relaxed, Tsunade wondered if active duty might not have been the better choice after all.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sai has been accepted into the pack, but Sasuke isn't happy about it until he is given a special window into the ink nin's motivations.

It is difficult to discuss the habits of Hanyou with any kind of scholarly consistency. Half demons display very little universally recognizable or characteristic behavior, as they are not a truly distinct species, but a hybrid form. While true demons generally maintain three physical manifestations that they can transform into at will, given a decent state of health, hanyou are usually caught in a single form somewhere between the three. A demon can appear almost wholly human, a form that costs little in energy to maintain, or a resting form in which their demonic characteristics are apparent, but not the dominant features. Demons can, of course, fully transform into their true appearance which generally has no recognizably human features at all. Hanyou are usually unable to transform, caught in a body with some true demon features and some human, which has been traditionally regarded as an abomination against nature. Half demons cannot achieve full transformation, if they are capable of change at all, without powerful emotional stimulus. Though often paradoxically beautiful, Hanyou are commonly despised by both their human and demon brethren. Hunted by all and unable to hide in another form, few of these hybrid creatures survive to full adulthood.

Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons

"Sasuke…please. Please talk to me." Naruto pleaded through the door.

Only silence greeted him from the other side of the portal and Naruto groaned as he leaned his head against the doorframe. No matter what he decided to do, it never turned out right. Sai was fast asleep on the couch, cuddling Sakura like a stuffed toy and utterly content, while Sasuke treated him to a new form of silent torture. Sasuke was hurt and confused and miserable and locked in the room with no indication of ever coming out. All of it was his fault. Naruto felt his breath catch and struggled not to let the tears come. Stupid Kyuubi! Naruto had always known that bringing another person into the delicate balance of his family would have terrible repercussions, but Sakura had seemed so confident about the idea, so sure…

"Still nothing?" She whispered over Sai's hair.

"No." Naruto said and it was more like a sob.

"I'm sorry. It isn't fair though, Sai has loved us even before Sasuke knew he could love at all!" Sakura said, sounding miserable.

"He doesn't like change and he doesn't like people. He has every right to be upset, I just wish…" Naruto sighed and trailed off.

"That he would talk to you." Sakura finished for him.

"Yeah." Naruto replied, sliding down the door to sit miserably on the floor.

"Everything will be okay." Sakura whispered.

"I know…I just…I hate it when he's mad like this!" Naruto said and the tears that had been threatening for the better part of three hours finally came.

"This is my fault. I should have waited, everything happened so…fast. Want me to try?" Sakura asked softly.

"N…No…If it didn't work this morning it isn't gonna work now." Naruto sobbed.

Naruto sobbed, pressing his face hard into his sleeve. He had known that Sasuke was mad, but he hadn't really expected him to be totally uncommunicative for three days. The night Sai followed them home, dinner had actually gone surprisingly well with everyone helping to cook. Sasuke had eaten in silence, but at least he wasn't snapping at everyone anymore. However, as soon as Sakura was asleep, Sasuke had locked himself into one of the many guest bedrooms and had not come out. Naruto had brought food and tea, oddly reminded of how things were when Sasuke was first released into his care, but Sasuke had not eaten anything. Naruto was beginning to feel desperate, but if he used the thrall his beloved subordinate would surely never speak to him again.

"Teme! Please! I don't care if you don't want to talk to me, but can you at least let me bring you something to eat?" Naruto shouted.

Silence.

"I could break the damn door down, you know! I could!" Naruto shouted miserably, giving the portal a kick for good measure.

Silence.

"Sasuke! PLEASE!" Naruto wailed.

Silence.

"He's just aching, that's why he won't eat." Sai said drowsily, yawning, roused from sleep by the shouting.

"W…What?" Naruto asked, sobbing hard now.

"It aches, to be away, and so he can't eat." Sai explained.

"Sai, what are you talking about?" Sakura asked, looking worried.

"The pain. The love-pain. He feels it and it can be very bad." Sai said.

The artist moved from his place on the couch and crouched by the door. He cocked his head, face blank and quizzical, and moved to press his face against the door. Sai closed his eyes, listening intently for a moment and then moved back to sit on his heels. Sakura stood also, moving gracefully to sit on the floor in front of the closed door, letting her hand rest against the portal.

"You hurt, you ache. I understand this." Sai said to the unmoving wood.

Naruto did not hear anything stir within the room, but held his breath anyway just in case. Sai seemed to consider a thought for a moment and then rose, moving purposefully towards his pack. The artist pulled his sketchbook from the military issue bag beside the couch and slid it under the door.

OoOoOoO

Sasuke sat, leaning against the door, listening to the pleading and the shouting and aching to have things back to the way they were. At first, Naruto had spoken through the door as a person might write a letter, telling Sasuke of his feelings and worries and how much he loved him. Sasuke believed him, of course he did, Naruto never lied, but all the truth in the world barely mattered. The blond had rambled on, as if wanting something to fill the icy silence, but now the door quivered with his sobbing and Sasuke could feel his own breath catching hard in his chest. Damn him. Naruto was not manipulative, but the sheer intensity of his honest affection was powerful enough to almost make Sasuke want to try…almost. The raven haired ninja was still angry, furious, and he had no intention of speaking to his alpha unless forced to by the thrall. The jinchuuriki was lucky, lucky he hadn't just left. Even with the thrall, Sasuke knew that he might have still managed to disappear…he also knew that Naruto and Sakura would not have stopped until he was found. Nothing had stopped them from coming after him before. Sasuke brushed a shaking hand through his hair and listened to Naruto weep and hated it.

Sakura would not cry, she would merely shut down. The girl internalized almost everything, burying her pain until she could no longer escape the emotion and then everything about her would shatter. He didn't want that, he didn't want to see her crumble as she had when he left Konoha, but all of this was her fault! Sadistically, he hoped that Naruto was hurting, badly, and Sakura too. They should hurt, they should suffer for the pain and the lonely anger that their stupid choices caused him. Sasuke loved the blond idiot and the pink-haired beauty; he was not ready to share them, not with Sai or anyone else. He heard Naruto crying and the sound hurt somewhere deep and tender, but he was still too angry to reply. He said nothing; there was really nothing to say. The balance of his world had been altered and all for the sake of a teammate who had only ever been meant as a meager replacement. Sai had no right to the love of his mates. He was only a placeholder, someone to make three while he studied under Orochimaru. Sai had never meant anything, though it ached to think of the artist with them in his absence for so many years… Sasuke struck his fist hard against the floor, letting the angry tears stream down his cheeks as Naruto sobbed on the other side of the door. If only he had never left in the first place, then Naruto and Sakura might never have met Sai and both of them would still be his alone.

The jinchuuriki belonged to him, he always had: his to love or his to kill, and Sakura as well. Though he knew from Gaara that most jinchuuriki took multiple subordinates, Sasuke had never thought that Naruto actually would. The blond, though he possessed a voracious sexual appetite, had never seemed unsatisfied. Naruto was happy and so why add another? Sasuke had never thought that anything like this would ever happen, at least not until Naruto was Hokage and forced to appease foreign powers through political marriages. Political marriage meant nothing any way; the other subordinates would have been little more than hostages and nothing would have changed. With Sai, there was real feeling, a kind of affection that had grown up in the emptiness his vengeance had left for them. Sasuke hated the pale artist for it, for making Sakura love him when he should not be able to feel anything at all. As for Naruto, he had always tolerated Sai and while it wasn't true romantic love, Sasuke knew that it easily could be. Like a warm coal, Naruto's affection for the artist could be easily moved to heat, to true lust and then…even love. The whole situation was simply intolerable and Naruto had no right to ask him to tolerate any of it. The blond was pleading with him again, sounding both angry and desperate. The sound of it hurt and so Sasuke ignored him and tried to meditate.

The blond belonged to him in a way that no one else could ever comprehend, and Sakura had always been there, always his if only he had reached for her. True, it had taken torture and the threat of losing both of them for him to actually see how much Naruto and Sakura meant to him, but nothing had actually changed. The thought of others terrified him because…because then perhaps there would be something less and he needed all of it just to survive. He needed Naruto's and Sakura's love, the same love that saved him from a future as a lord of corpses, a kind of hell he had barely been able to comprehend. He needed them, both of them, and if there were others then…life would not be the same.

"You hurt, you ache. I understand this." Sai's blank sounding voice said through the door.

Sasuke bit his lip and let the sobbing rock him. He understood? The idiot boy with no past and blunted emotions that were barely more than a reflex understood, of course he did. The sentiment was only words, empty, foolish words and Sasuke felt his face heat with rage at the sound of Sai's voice. The whole idea was ridiculous. Sai had been groomed, broken and re-broken until he could hardly feel anything at all, and yet he claimed to understand. Sasuke might have laughed if he wasn't crying so forcefully. This was the man Naruto and Sakura had chosen to love, to offer the love that had before been reserved only for him. His family, he had managed to lose them again, though this time in a smile and a few words instead of a night filled with bloodshed. Perhaps if he had been a little kinder, if he had tried harder to please…there was a gentleness to Sai's manner that Sasuke knew he could never achieve. He was not a gentle person and perhaps that was why…why they needed another. The thought hurt and Sasuke had the unreasonable urge to scream.

There was a pause and silence from the others waiting on the other side of the door. Perhaps they had finally left. Sasuke let out a shuddering breath, feeling empty and miserable. A sketchbook suddenly appeared from beneath the door, its cover scratched and bent, obviously old and very heavily used. Sasuke hesitated. He had heard Sakura say more than once that the drawings, the paintings, were Sai's only true emotional expression. She had once, laughingly, said that the sketchbook was his soul. Even if he wanted to shove the object aside, he could not do so without recognizing its importance. Sasuke closed his eyes, feeling the hot tears drying against his skin and hating the weakness even if no one was present to see it. There was a heartbeat and then another and he reached for the book.

The drawings in the beginning were obviously very old, years old. There were many sketches of birds, of trees, of weapons and Naruto's smiling fifteen year old face. Another drawing of Sakura, looking very young and very stoic, sitting in the fading light of a sunset caught Sasuke's attention. She had been beautiful even then, lovely, but so cold…Sai drew her again, polishing her weapons even as blood dripped from an ugly wound on her arm. Her face was captured perfectly, each lovely plane and shadow lovingly drawn, and her expression made it obvious that she did not feel the pain from her injury at all. There was a drawing of teenage Naruto sketching the Uchiha standard in the sand, crouching low on his heels and more defeated than Sasuke had ever seen him. A dark charcoal drawing of Sakura kneeling over a fallen enemy, her face distant and closed had been hastily drawn on the opposing page. Had she ever looked so thin, so hard, so distant? Sai had seen it, even then, the feeling that he had chosen to ignore. The artist had seen how badly Sasuke had hurt her by leaving. He had drawn the destruction left in the wake of Sasuke's choices. The images were hard to look at, drawn so perfectly from life, illustrating all the moments he had missed, how Naruto and Sakura had grown up without him. Sasuke swallowed and turned the page, startled to see Naruto's fierce, scowling face. The jinchuuriki stood upon a battlefield, his expression filled with bitter hatred and suspicion as he surveyed the corpses. Sasuke had never seen him look like that, the image was a snapshot of the monster Naruto might have been if pushed far enough. Sai had chosen to only add color to the blond's eyes, painting them an awful, burning blue. Sasuke shuddered.

Sasuke moved through the book, looking at images of animals, pottery and other ninja with the occasional drawings of his younger, sadder mates. He saw his own, younger, face drawn into a malicious sneer reflected in the wide blade of Sai's tanto. The hatred in his expression was forceful and it was obvious that their meeting had made a distinct impression on the artist. He flipped through a few pages of Shino and various insects, Sakura weeping, Naruto drawing his kunai across his own hand in the moonlight…All drawn so candidly, so accurately. Then, somewhere towards the middle of the book, long after Naruto's smile had come to look forced and Sakura's face had become a permanent mask, something very important changed.

There was a drawing, in full color, of Sakura. The girl was bent over a stream, washing the smoke of battle from her long pink hair. Sai had captured the warmth in her green eyes and the gentle, frail smile on her mouth. He must have sketched her there, in a moment, moved by the rare expression. Her clothing was wet from the stream, sticking revealingly to her powerful, sensual curves, hugging the sharp points of her nipples through the thin fabric. The wet tangle of her wild pink hair sparkled from the paper. Sasuke turned the page and his wife was there again, wading into the water, her naked back curving sensually as the water hugged her hips. Several drawings, all in startling color, of Sakura bathing and Sasuke knew that her startling beauty had finally penetrated the cold layers of Sai's training.

He drew her, again and again, each image more breathtaking than the last. There was an element of frustration in the artwork, some works abandoned before they were finished, pages torn away. So, the artist had noticed that the true impact of her beauty was in the color of her body. Sasuke smiled, remembering his own revelation about her subtle aesthetic. He eagerly turned the pages, watching Sakura grow, mature, drawn in elegant detail during all the years he had missed. Then, Sai began drawing Naruto's hands. He captured the way the jinchuuriki held his claws up and away from Sakura's skin when he embraced her, the way he liked to curl his fingers in sleep. Naruto's hands, again and again, more often touching Sakura's flesh than holding a kunai or flinging a shuriken. So, he had fallen in love with the jinchuuriki's hands first. Naruto's hands, rough hands that could be both hard and soft at once… the thought made him shiver. Sasuke sighed, despite how he wanted to deny it, the love was obviously there. The affection was pressed into each careful stroke of the pen, each sensual shadow.

Sasuke closed the book with snap, hands trembling and unsure if he wanted to see anymore. Sakura was right. Sai did feel everything, even if he had no idea how to interpret the emotion, but the revelation only made Sasuke feel worse. Sai had loved them, both of them, while he had been busy making war on everything that they loved, worshipping his own hatred. Sasuke did not want to see this poignant window into the dark years they had lost, a mirror into a time when Sakura was ruthless and Naruto privately miserable. New tears sprang from his eyes and Sasuke allowed himself a deep groan as the nagging pain filled his belly with ice. He deserved it, this agony, just as surely as Naruto deserved his silence. He wanted to burn it, burn the book and Sai's soul, all of it to ashes. Instead he opened the thick tome of images and looked again.

A drawing of the night ski, empty and still filled with some unseen yearning met his eyes. Sai drew the ski many times, the stars aligning themselves with the horizon in several patterns. A few more pages of everyday objects and Shino with his ever present insects and then Sasuke found it: a drawing of his wedding. He saw himself, dressed in the Uzumaki livery, bending knee to Naruto as the jinchuuriki smiled and cried at the same time. Sakura was there, kneeling as well, her face rosy with joy and green eyes sparkling. The scene was so beautiful, obviously drawn from the back of the temple and yet painstakingly detailed. He had drawn every strand of Sakura's hair, every steel bell sewn onto Naruto's belt, every fold of the silken kimono he had worn. Every detail perfect, every stroke meticulously careful. Sasuke smiled. Sai had even managed to draw the lavender sword, hidden in its sheath, tucked behind Naruto's kimono and waiting to be offered. Everyone else had been so shocked, but the artist had noticed the weapon at once and had obviously guessed its significance.

The pages following the wedding were filled with images of the night ski, almost a year's worth of stars obviously drawn from a tall building in Konoha, and occasional achingly beautiful images of Naruto sleeping or Sakura smiling in the market. Sasuke frowned, something had changed again, the art had a different quality than before. The drawings became obsessive, detailed and so filled with desire that it almost hurt to look at them. The stars and Naruto, the stars and Sakura, Shino's disapproving face…drawn over and over again. Sai started drawing Naruto and Sakura together, embracing, kissing, and even a few rough drawings of them making love. Obviously drawn from Sai's imagination instead of real life, the sketches still managed to capture the tenderness and heat of his mates' intimacy. Sasuke blushed and felt himself stir looking at the images, but continued turning the pages nonetheless. When he found the pictures of Naruto holding, kissing his own likeness, he could barely breathe. Sai had drawn him as one might a very beautiful landscape, every scar and angle rendered perfectly by a curious hand. Sai had drawn his face, from every angle, fascinated by every detail of Sasuke's visage. He drew him, shoulders bare, practicing jutsu in the moonlight and the image was so devastatingly sensual that Sasuke almost closed the book again. So, his mates were not the only target of Sai's obsession. Sasuke felt hot and a little uncomfortable at the thought. True, Sai had only drawn him, but in drawing it was almost like the artist knew him…almost like he understood him.

Sasuke swallowed around his suddenly dry throat and licked his lips. Tentatively, almost afraid, he turned to the final drawing in the book. He saw himself, leaning against a door, arms hugged tight around his knees. Naruto had been drawn on the other side, pressed against the unforgiving wood, his face in his hands. The Jinchuuriki was obviously weeping, his shoulders low and arched with misery. Sakura had been drawn beside him, her expression blank and tight with misery as she stood beside him. Sai had drawn the tears, running through Naruto's fingers and Sasuke was suddenly exceptionally aware of the soft sobbing still issuing from behind the bedroom door. However, the most startling aspect of the drawing was that Sai had drawn himself, the only self-portrait in the entire book, sitting beside Sasuke in the manner of someone waiting. He had drawn himself waiting, posture closed and sad, separate from his loved ones crying on the other side of the barrier. Sasuke gasped, throwing the book to the side. It landed with a soft thump and the raven haired ninja glared at it as if the thing might come to life and attack him.

Damn Sai! There was no way the utterly clueless, awkward, damaged person he had met in the teahouse was capable of such depth, such intensity. He wasn't human, he had to be some sort of shade or demon to know so much and still be so ignorant. Sasuke wiped a quivering hand over his face and pressed his fist hard against the ache in his chest. Sai knew. He did, there was no question of it now. Sasuke swallowed hard and rose shakily to his feet.

"Dobe, get off the damn door or I'll break your face trying to get out of here." He snapped tersely.

"Sasuke? Thank KAMI! Whatever you want…" Naruto said, voice cracking hysterically.

Sasuke gathered his composure and opened the door. Naruto stood waiting for him, rubbing hard at his eyes and generally looking terrible. Sakura looked like she very much want to touch him, but unsure of what his reaction might be. Both of them were there, waiting, and someone had even dragged one of the couches into the hall so that Sakura could sit comfortably while they all waited for him to emerge. Suddenly, Sasuke was considerably less angry. He had thought, had been so sure, that they just didn't care…Naruto swallowed hard, his blue eyes red from crying and lack of sleep. Sasuke still felt the urge to punch him hard in the skull, but tucked his hands into the sleeves of his kimono instead. Sai was still resting on his knees, looking up at him with an innocent kind of fearfulness. They were all waiting, frightened to see what he would say, or worse that he would say nothing at all. Sasuke bit his lip, not sure how to express his thoughts.

"I will go now. Thank you." Sai said and moved to leave.

"Wait…I don't understand…" Sasuke said, startled, moving to follow him.

"Wait! Sai!" Sakura shouted.

"I do not want your hatred. I have no desire to cause your family to suffer." Sai replied, looking steadily into Sasuke's face.

"I…I mean…I thought that you loved them." Sasuke whispered.

"I do…I think. Shino always says that if you love someone you don't want them to be hurt. I know I don't want you to be hurt." Sai replied.

"I'm not hurt. Stupid, as if the likes of you could ever hope to accomplish that!" Sasuke hissed.

"You are powerful, but still a very bad liar." Sai asserted.

"Tch…whatever. Obviously I'm not as good a liar as you are." Sasuke hissed haughtily. Sai cocked his head.

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused.

"You have everyone in this whole fucking kingdom convinced that you can't feel anything, that you have no emotions. They all think that you're like some kind of machine, perfectly objective, which is total shit. I've seen your book, how you draw, I know that it isn't true." Sasuke whispered, pinning the other ninja with his eyes.

"I…I do feel some things. I do not really know what it is that I feel and so I draw. I try to understand." Sai whispered, looking slightly perturbed.

"Where would you go?" Naruto asked, worried.

"I don't really know." Sai replied, smiling his fake smile.

"I really hate that expression, stop it." Sasuke snapped.

Startled, Sai let the false smile from his face leaving an odd absence of expression in its place. Sasuke nodded in approval. Naruto cocked an eyebrow at his subordinate, utterly confused, but too relieved to be finally having some kind of interaction with him to interrupt. Sasuke rolled his eyes. The dobe could be awfully stupid.

"Yes, that's better. Now, at least, you don't look like one of those awful creepy little dolls Tsume-san always puts in the windows of his shop. You look almost human." Sasuke said tersely.

"Oh?" Sai asked.

"It's real, your real face."

"Yes…I guess so."

"Well…without that stupid fake grin, at least it's not intolerable." Sasuke declared.

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked, looking concerned.

"Okay. Well, goodbye." Sai said, blinking slowly as he turned away.

"Wait! I…I…just…Stay." Sasuke whispered, his voice shaking only a little.

"You…you would let me stay?" Sai asked, eyes wide and hopeful.

"Well…they'd only throw you back into the psych ward anyway and being as how you managed to blow the whole damn place to pieces…that would be troublesome for everyone." Sasuke said, examining his sleeve.

"Oh…Oh…THANK YOU!" Sai shouted, smiling widely.

Sai moved towards him, almost too fast to see, and then the artist's mouth was against his own. Sasuke flailed, utterly shocked as Sai practically leapt into his arms. There was an odd moment of vertigo and then they landed in a heap. Naruto grunted softly as Sai dragged him to the floor as well. Sasuke coughed and tried to shove the effusive ninja off of his face, but the other man was surprisingly strong. Naruto's arms were tight around him and the jinchuuriki was holding his shoulders like he would never let go ever again. Naruto was kissing his neck and Sai was just kissing him and, while awkward, it wasn't nearly as gross as Sasuke had thought.

"Sasuke! Oh Kami, please, please, please never do that again. I thought you hated me!" Naruto whispered, lips shaking.

"He really will break the door down next time and that can be quite expensive." Sai said as Sasuke tried to catch his breath.

"First, I DO hate you, moron!" Sasuke snapped.

"Oh…" Naruto sighed.

"Second, do NOT kiss me!" Sasuke snarled.

"Oh…" Sai said looking honestly disappointed.

OoOoOoO

"You look ridiculous." Hanabi sniped.

"Shut up." Neji snapped, as he applied the eye liner.

"Naruto doesn't like his men to wear make-up. Sasuke doesn't wear make-up. You look stupid." Hanabi continued, crossing her arms haughtily.

"It's traditional."

"You still look cheap." Hanabi replied.

"You don't even know what that means." Neji replied and tried to ignore her.

"Well…That's what Kiba says about those ladies on Cho street and they wear lots of eyeliner…"

"Obviously you're the expert." Neji muttered sarcastically.

"Sissy thinks that this whole thing isn't fair."

"No one cares what Hinata thinks, except Kiba." Neji sighed.

"Well, that's why she's marrying him. Obviously." Hanabi sniped.

"Hanabi, go away."

"What if Naruto doesn't want you? I heard he just married Sai…" Hanabi asked, not making any move to leave.

"That…well, Hiashi would be very offended by that." Neji whispered.

"Oh. Like, he'd be really mad?" Hanabi asked.

"Yes."

"Like how mad?"

"Hanabi…don't you have something better to do?" Neji griped.

"No, and Father says to spend time with you now since we won't see you for a while…" The girl replied softly.

Neji sighed, setting down the slender stick of kohl and regarding his reflection unhappily. The dark liner made his eyes look glaringly, silvery white and the effect was more ghoulish than seductive. Unlike the people of Suna, who wore liner habitually to guard against the sun, the ninja of Konoha used cosmetics rarely and Neji found the enhancement unnerving. His opinion, however, about his face or anything else was totally irrelevant. A person, any person, offered in a political marriage between clans prepared themselves in a certain way. The process was a ritual, a way to demonstrate a kind of surrender to the party being accosted, and could be used as a legitimate cause to reject the marriage offer if performed incorrectly. The only problem was that Naruto was more than likely totally unaware that the tradition even existed, the importance of the offer or how to appropriately react. Neji felt his mouth go dry at the thought of the jinchuuriki's refusal; it would be grounds for civil war if he read Hiashi's concerns accurately. War between Uzumaki and Hyuuga would be an unmitigated disaster, far worse than any kind of conflict with a foreign power. So many people would die, all family and friends, leaving wounds that would never heal and making Konoha vulnerable to outside attack. Neji did not believe that Naruto would ever be a threat to Konoha, but he had not realized how tenuous the relationship between the two houses was. There was obviously information that was missing, variables that he was unaware of. Hiashi clearly believed that war was imminent or something as drastic as treaty through marriage would never be considered. Everything could depend upon this, upon the liner and the kimono and the damn aphrodisiacs. The lives of almost everyone Neji knew could be at risk, balanced upon Naruto's decision and his own ability to make peace. The thought made Neji vaguely nauseas.

"Do you even like Naruto?" Hanabi asked, tired of being ignored.

"Yes. I respect him."

"Enough to kiss him?" Hanabi pressed.

"I hope so."

"Will you let Sasuke kiss you too?" She asked.

"Yes, I suppose I'll have to." Neji sighed.

"He doesn't like you very much and Sissy says it's because you helped Kiba poison him. I wouldn't kiss anyone who poisoned me." The girl said.

"You should enjoy the fact that you still have the choice." Neji snapped.

"Sissy says you always have a choice."

"Hinata is very naïve." Neji replied.

"Do you think she did a bad thing by wanting to marry Kiba? Do you hate her?" Hanabi asked quietly.

"No. I don't hate her."

"But you think she betrayed us? Father thinks so, he is very angry…"

"I don't really know anymore." Neji said to his reflection.

OoOoOoO

Naruto moved like a bullet through the forest, pushing himself to the limit to stay hard on Sasuke's heels. The raven haired ninja launched himself into space, flipping expertly around a wide tree limb and bringing his feet hard into the jinchuuriki's gut. The air woofed out of his lungs, but Naruto rolled with the impact, sparing his body the true force of the attack. Sasuke sprang at him, sword held at right guard, swift and merciless. Naruto caught his subordinate in a hard knee lock, swung his body like a pendulum and slammed Sasuke with a resounding crack into the trunk of a large oak. Sasuke took the hit, but used the momentum to push Naruto's throat against the wicked edge of his katana. Naruto blocked at the last moment with a kunai and shook as he felt the force of Sasuke's attack reverberate through the bones of his arm. The sword shed sparks against the jinchuuriki's blade, and the two weapons parted with a shrill scream of steel. He kicked out, catching Sasuke in the thigh and sending both of them tumbling away into the foliage. They fought, even as they fell, punching and kicking with enough force to rattle the changing leaves around them.

Sasuke landed first, springing swiftly into the air again to catch Naruto's arm and flinging the jinchuuriki away like a ragdoll into a stand of aspen. Naruto flipped himself in midair, contacting the supple tree trunks with his feet and shooting himself back through the space towards Sasuke. The dark haired ninja fell seamlessly to his knees and Naruto's blade whistled through the air barely an inch from his face. Sasuke drove the heel of his hand hard into Naruto's jaw and the resounding crack of the blow echoed through the shady peace of the forest. The jinchuuriki moved well, letting his body flow with the blow, but blood was still dripping slowly from his lips when he found the Earth again. Naruto rolled and came up flinging a shower of kunai. Sasuke deflected the weapons easily, closing the distance in less than a blink. For a breathless moment, Naruto had the upper hand, moving gracefully into a low stance as the raven engaged him again. He struck with the thundering force of a freight train, straight towards Sasuke's unguarded face. The movement was powerful and perfectly aimed, but not fast enough. Sasuke avoided Naruto's fist, moving fluidly like a swimming snake around the blow. The raven haired ninja redirected the strike, shifting his weight back behind Naruto's shoulder to catch the jinchuuriki's arm. Sasuke trapped him in an arm bar, jerking Naruto's shoulder sharply. The jinchuuriki grunted, made a swift gesture with his free hand, and Sasuke released him.

"Tag!" Sasuke shouted excitedly, moving to lick at the blood still smeared across Naruto's face.

"Ugh, I think you broke my fucking jaw!" Naruto whined, rubbing his chin.

"If I broke it, you wouldn't be able talk, idiot." Sasuke said, still smiling fiercely.

"Are they always so rough?" Sai asked from his seat beside Sakura on a small blanket spread across the forest floor.

"Oh yeah, this is nothing. Usually they break more trees and more bones, at least no one has been stabbed yet." The girl said, smiling fondly.

"Ah." Sai said and smiled as the two men sprang after one another again.

"You can go too, go play with them if you want." She suggested softly.

"I can't." Sai replied.

"Why?"

"It isn't play to me."

"Oh…but you must spar, you know? To train?" Sakura pushed.

"Last time I trained that way, someone died. That is just how Root was. We did not play." Sai said.

"That's horrible!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Not really. I didn't die." Sai replied with a yawn.

"Yeah…but, your friend…"

"I didn't have friends until I met you. He was just another body to break, I don't even know his name." Sai said.

"Oh…Kami…" Sakura whispered.

"Tag!" Naruto's jovial voice called out from the forest.

"It isn't 'Tag' unless I give, moron!" Sasuke shouted.

"You never give!" Naruto whined.

"Then it's never tag…" Sasuke replied and the heavy crack of a tree trunk breaking resounded through the forest.

"Sai…How old were you?" Sakura asked tentatively.

"Oh, I don't really know. Maybe seven." The artist sighed as he sketched an image of Sakura's horrified face.

Sai watched as Naruto emerged at a run from the woods, Sasuke moving like a deadly shadow just behind him. The jinchuuriki turned at the last second, launching himself into a jump and up into the trees once again. The raven haired ninja moved without hesitation, climbing the tree with the practiced skill of a true forest nin. They fought high in the thick bows, using the dappled shadows to try and confound one another's senses, laughing wildly and striking hard. Naruto flung a kunai, pinning the sleeve of Sasuke's kimono to one of the trees and using the opportunity to lunge close into his mate's guard. Sasuke butted him hard in the face and both of them grappled frantically, each trying to gain the upper hand. The way that they moved together was actually quite lovely and Sai regretted that he would never be able to capture the beauty of it in a still media like paint or graphite.

"Ow! Teme, you broke my nose! Again!" Naruto complained, pinning Sasuke beneath his knee.

"Well, you tore my kimono." He huffed, writhing around to break free of Naruto's hold.

"It's just a kimono! What about my nose!" Naruto snarled, holding his face.

His nose was bleeding rather impressively and obviously broken. They grappled a bit more, tumbling until Sasuke managed to maneuver himself on top, holding Naruto into the turf by his hair. Despite the dirt and the blood, Sai knew that they were happy and so he decided he was happy too.

"Your nose will heal, stupid. My kimono is ruined!" Sasuke snapped, cocking an eyebrow with mock displeasure.

"Don't be an ass." Naruto said, smiling fondly at Sasuke through the blood.

Sai felt himself smile, watching them, but the smile failed to stop at his lips and soon his eyes were smiling too. Laughter, strange and ticklish and warm bubbled up from deep inside his chest, moving in a sparkling flood out to his lips. Sai knew how to make the sounds of laughter, but he had never known what it felt like to truly laugh. The laughter made the tight things in his chest loose, made the cold and stillness fluid somehow. Sai laughed, feeling the blood rush to his face and his lips tingle with the sound. Sakura smiled at him and she was so beautiful that it almost hurt to look at her. Sasuke moved to stare at him and the raven's normally fathomless eyes were warm with playfulness and curiosity. Soon he too was laughing and Naruto as well, wincing and giggling in equal measure as he tried to laugh without moving his broken nose. Sasuke held his sides, laughing in giddy little gasps and Sakura laughed like silver music together with her mates. The sound and the sensation were both beautiful and powerful and as the tears streamed from his eyes, Sai knew that he had found the cure for the terrible obsession he had suffered for so long. Shino was right, he had always been right. Sai was in love.

OoOoOoO

"Hokage! I need to speak to you. The data from the tests I ran on Sai, I have the results." Shizune said.

"Test results?" Tsunade asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Yes. There were no previous medical records available and so I had to do all the basic screenings over again as soon as he was admitted." Shizune explained.

"Screenings? For a psyche case?" Tsunade teased.

"Yes! Having a complete health profile is integral to treating any ailment!" Shizune argued.

"Don't you think that blood work for someone obviously suffering from a psychiatric disorder is a little compulsive?" Tsunade asked, smiling.

"No." Shizune said firmly.

The medical nin stood impatiently in front of Tsunade's desk, looking over the papers in her hands as if reluctant to let them go. Tsunade was about to pour herself another glass of sake and tell her student to go relax when a cheerful looking Tonton poked his snout around the door. Tsunade smiled to see her pig and called out to him. Tonton snorted excitedly and broke into an all-out run when Tsunade revealed a piece of honey comb hidden beneath her desk. Shizune closed her mouth, looking annoyed by the interruption, but Tsunade knew her apprentice was just as indulgent with the pet as she was. Tsunade bent to pet the pig, enjoying the joyful snuffling as Tonton ate the treat. Shizune sighed, obviously wanting to discuss her lab data. Shizune was an excellent physician and assistant, but she had a profound tendency to get over invested in minutiae. The young woman bent over Tsunade's desk, brandishing the papers like some kind of jutsu and Tsunade finally turned away from Tonton.

"I'm tired and as interesting as all of this is, I'm sure we can talk about it later." The Hokage said, yawning expansively.

"No! This is important! I need to speak with Sai!" Shizune argued.

"Sai has already been discharged and unless one of those pages is his marriage contract, I doubt he will care." Tsunade replied huffily as she sipped her sake.

"I know he's discharged, but we have to call him back!" Shizune said urgently.

"Why?"

"The tests…I…I've never seen anything like this!" Shizune exclaimed, moving to hand the Hokage the lab read-outs.

Tsunade took a moment, reading quickly but thoroughly through the material. The numbers did not match up appropriately and obviously some kind of lab error had occurred. While annoying, a sleepy lab tech's mistake was certainly nothing to get upset over.

"It's a mistake." Tsunade sighed irately.

"I had them check it three times, that was why it took so long to get the result back! That is the real data, not a mistake, I'm sure of it!" Shizune hissed urgently.

"But…that's impossible…" Tsunade whispered, confused.

"I thought so too, at first…"

"These numbers don't make any sense, Shizune, there's no way this is accurate! These results show that Sai's cell count is almost triple what it should be for his amount of metabolic output. His heat measures and levels cellular bi-products are way too low for anybody with this many cells." Tsunade said.

"I know! I wasn't sure what to make of it either, but the effect is the same, regardless of tissue type!" Shizune said, gesturing to another row of numbers.

Tsunade frowned at the readout, but it was as Shizune said. Sai had three times the number of cells that any normal person did and, moreover, they were inactive. Certain ninja had elevated cell counts, usually as a genetically encoded pre-disposition associated with some kind of favorable trait. The sharingan, for example, required tremendous cellular turnover and so the Uchiha clan members often had high cell counts. Still, she had never seen anyone with cell counts this high or so homogenously across all tissue types.

"What does this mean?" Tsunade asked.

"He has an entire population of stem cells, alive, but inactive, basically existing in a kind of extended stasis."

"Stasis? Why?"

"I don't know. It's almost like a kind of developmental cell proliferation archetype." Shizune replied, shrugging.

"You mean as in, undifferentiated cells awaiting some kind of growth factor in order to divide?" Tsunade asked, rubbing her temple.

"No, more like an activity perpetuating signal. The cells don't need to divide, they just need to…to wake up." Shizune said, struggling for the right way to describe her theory.

"A signal?"

"Yes."

"What kind of signal?" Tsunade asked.

"I don't know. Maybe a hormone or some kind of chemical factor, there's really no way to say." Shizune sighed, biting her lip.

"So…Is Sai sick then? Some kind of inactive neoplasm?" Tsunade asked, worried.

"A neoplasm? Everywhere in his body? I doubt that, but we still need to call him back." Shizune laughed.

"I'm not dragging Sai back into this hospital on a hunch. I just need to know if this can make him ill, put his health at risk, that's the important consideration." Tsunade said seriously.

"I don't know if this can make him sick…"

"So, as of now, he's healthy?" Tsunade pushed.

"At this point, I'm not even sure he's entirely human." Shizune whispered.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto is drawn into the Hyuuga clan's clever intrigue, while Neji becomes the willing sacrifice of an ancient and ugly tradition that threatens to make him into a victim.

Much goes into the selection of subordinates by a Jinchuuriki alpha, though the motivations of the creatures in choosing one subordinate over another have rarely been accurately described. Political stability is often a consideration for marriage, but even favorable political matings are commonly rejected if the person offered is too weak or generally incompatible. Jinchuuriki are believed to, subconsciously, prefer pairings which simultaneously strengthen the chakra abilities of their own offspring and also monopolize the breeding capabilities of powerful competitors. A male subordinate mating with the alpha female will, of course, produce fewer of his offspring than if he were mating with a female in an exclusive relationship. Those children carry the chakra of the Jinchuuriki and so perpetuate the demon's energy, which is a favorable outcome regardless of sire. However, the factor so many times overlooked is that by taking subordinates, Jinchuuriki effectively control the reproductive capacity of multiple, powerful ninja who might otherwise represent selective competition. Only truly powerful ninja carrying exceptional genetics can survive the initial mating and establishment of the thrall and so the creature either controls a potential rival or removes the threat from the gene pool. Naturally, Jinchuuriki are not consciously aware of the elegant brutality that their mating habits achieve. As all creatures, they breed and love and mourn the loss of any member of their family unit, far more than either humans or true demons. Regardless, a subordinate breeding in the pack is not producing offspring elsewhere and thus the Jinchuuriki's own genetic line obtains a better chance of survival.

-Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons

Naruto winced as Sakura straightened the bones of his fingers, re-breaking them so that the digits could heal straight and strong. Normally, his body was able to re-set itself into the proper pattern of healing, but the bones were small and Sasuke had practically crushed them when they had tumbled out of a particularly high tree earlier that day. He might have been annoyed about that, re-breaking bones hurt dammit, except that Sakura had re-broken the raven's cheek bone first as punishment for being too rough. The bruises were still dark and obvious on Sasuke's face, but Naruto knew that soon there would be no sign of injury on his subordinate at all. He did that for him, by sharing energy through their bond, and Sasuke was practically invincible. The thought made Naruto happy even though Sasuke had been nearly invincible to begin with anyway, a force feared not only by people, but by nations. Teme was undisputedly the most talented ninja alive and had been since Itachi succumbed to the grave. After all, it had taken poison and a team of three ninja, including the unstoppable Neji Hyuuga, to even bring him back to Konoha. He wasn't looking terribly invincible at the moment with bruises all over his face and Sai picking twigs out of his hair, but appearances could be deceiving. Naruto smiled.

The blond suddenly hoped that the child sleeping in Sakura's womb was Sasuke's, because then nothing would ever be able to hurt their baby. She would be unstoppable, just like the raven haired genius who sired her. He had started thinking of their baby as a girl ever since Sasuke had turned his sharingan onto the chakra pattern forming in Sakura's womb and announced that the meridians looked feminine. Though the kunoichi was barely showing, Sasuke insisted that the child was female, that the pattern of her energy told him so. He said the child was a daughter, their daughter, a miracle Naruto had barely allowed himself to dream of somehow made real and his subordinate had seen her. Naruto was almost jealous, jealous of a power like the sharingan which allowed the raven to see into everything, no matter how uncertain. With an ability like that, it was no wonder that Sasuke was so brutally confident, so haughty, so totally secure in his own supremacy.

Knowing that someone like Sasuke Uchiha was in love with him made Naruto breathless and suddenly, even with his left hand a mangled mess, the jinchuuriki desperately wanted to have him again. He would have loved Sasuke even if he hadn't been an unearthly beauty, but he was and so Naruto was wholly at the mercy of his own desire. Sasuke looked lovely, even covered with dirt and blood, every inch of him pure seductive elegance. The worst part was that he knew how good it would be, how hot and intense and perfect. Naruto sighed and tried not to let the sound seem too frustrated. Any kind of intimacy had been badly dampened since Sai joined the pack and everyone had been totally celibate for almost six days. Despite what Sakura said about him being a sex crazed maniac, six days was a long time!

Sasuke sat, shirtless and gorgeous, allowing Sai to brush the dirt and dried leaves out of his hair with a comb. Sai smiled, obviously enjoying the closeness and the scent of Sasuke's hair, which the raven allowed with a haughty kind of tolerance. Sai appeared utterly absorbed in the task, only pausing to run a hand almost sneakily over the hard, rounded flesh of Sasuke's shoulders with the pretense of wiping away the blood drying there. Naruto could tell that the artist was utterly fascinated by his raven haired terror and wondered with a sudden flash of heat how it might be to bed both of them. He had never really been attracted to Sai before, but looking at him now Naruto could not deny that the artist was comely. Long legged and as slender as one of his own brushstrokes with hair soft and heavy as the most expensive Konohan silk, Sai achieved a kind of sensual aesthetic few men could. People often remarked at how alike Sasuke and Sai were in appearance, but Naruto thought the similarity was rather superficial. Both of them had black hair and fair skin, but the angles of Sasuke's face were strong and angular, while Sai's features looked softer, flatter. Sai was like a shadow cast by a willow tree, curvaceous in a way that had nothing to do with his flesh and everything to do with the angle of his hips and shoulders. Even if his almost ghastly pallor was startling, the artist had the kind of body every dancer dreamed of.

Naruto felt his breath catch imagining his Sasuke wound up in Sai's graceful limbs and Sakura's hair. The two of them, both pale of skin and darksome, would be lovely against the rich orange sheets of his bed, writhing together against him... Naruto blushed hard and Sasuke raised a questioning eyebrow at him. Coughing loudly, mostly from sheer lack of air, Naruto tried to bring his heartbeat into a more natural rhythm. He might have succeeded, except that Sakura decided to choose that moment to straighten another one of his fingers.

"Ow!" He yelped.

"Be more careful next time. Idiots." The girl said tersely as she cracked the bone and reset it.

"It's Teme's fault! He was the one who broke it in the first place!" Naruto whined.

"Is that why you broke his face?" Sai asked, cocking his head curiously.

"That was an accident!" Naruto shouted.

"Tch…As if you could ever manage to hurt me on purpose." Sasuke said haughtily.

"It's called sparing because nobody is supposed to require hospitalization afterwards and you are just as bad as he is!" Sakura grumbled and pushed the shards of bone back into alignment.

"Ow! That hurts woman!" Naruto snarled.

"Dobe, keep your voice down. All your whining is going to piss her off." Sasuke hissed, glaring at him meaningfully.

"Fine." He huffed, pouting.

"Stop being such a baby, I'm almost done." Sakura said, concentrating fully on the bones of his hand.

Left with nothing to do other than fantasize about his subordinates and accept the pain, Naruto took a moment to really look at Sakura. The girl was bent over his fingers, her graceful hands tracing the lines of the bones, making sure that they set properly. She was beautiful as she scowled in concentration, a few strands of her glittering pink hair drifting down to pool in his palm as she worked. Naruto studied his wife closely, noting with relief that her color looked better and that she had gained back a bit of the weight she had lost before. Tsunade had obviously been right to dismiss Sakura from duty at the hospital and, though he knew she wasn't happy about it, the girl was looking stronger every day. Naruto almost sighed with relief to see her alert and recovering. Perhaps everything would finally begin to slow down a bit, now that she wasn't so sick, and they could all enjoy a little peace. Naruto brushed his free hand in a light caress against his wife's cheek so she would know he wasn't really all that annoyed. Sakura looked up at him, a little worried by the unexpected gesture, but she recognized the affection in the jinchuuriki's eyes and smiled. She would be okay, he would protect her and Sasuke would relax and everything would be fine.

Sakura blushed a bit under Naruto's gaze and Sasuke let a small, true smile to spread over his face. She was so gorgeous with her piercing green eyes and flushed cheeks that he might have kissed her if she hadn't decided to re-break his little finger at the same moment. Life was weird sometimes. Naruto groaned and bit his lip to avoid making any other damning noises that might be construed as 'whining' by his subordinates. Sakura sighed and let his hand slip into a ready basin of ice water. He gasped. The cold was almost as painful as the broken bones had been, but Sakura worked herself into his lap and Naruto forgot that he even had a hand, much less a broken one. The kunoichi's breasts were soft and luscious against his chest as Naruto let his nose drift into the fragrant silk of her hair, inhaling deeply. By Kami she smelled good, too good, better than any human being ought to smell. The girl made a soft purring sound that somehow reverberated through the very bones of his spine and Naruto struggled against the urge to ravish her just as they were, the consequences be damned.

So much time had passed and so much had happened, Naruto wanted the solidity that the act would bring, the reassurance that balance had been restored. He wanted her and he wanted Sasuke and maybe even Sai, so badly it hurt, but everything was still too delicate. Naruto knew that if Sai was rushed into intimacy with the rest of them, things could go very, very badly, especially considering how utterly clueless the artist was about any kind of personal interaction. He let his eyes slide over Sai's body, over the slender arms and the muscular torso, and wondered. Sasuke had allowed the artist to stay with them for the time being, but that did not mean he would be ready to sleep with him. Naruto sighed and made do with kissing Sakura's throat, listening to her heated noises and wondered how anyone managed to navigate this kind of mess. Sai ran his hand over Sasuke's shoulder again and the raven tilted his head up to glare at him.

"Will you stop that! You're only spreading it around anyway!" Sasuke snapped.

"Hmmm…it's sticky." Sai replied, licking his lips.

"Well…Go get a washcloth or something!" Sasuke ordered haughtily.

"Ok!" Sai shouted excitedly, leaping away to hunt for something to sponge the blood off with.

Sasuke blushed hotly and Naruto could tell that the raven wished had just kept his mouth shut in the first place. Sakura laughed a bit under her breath and Sasuke glared darkly at them, but that only made her laugh more. Sai returned with a steaming bowl of water and several small towels. Sasuke grimaced, but said nothing as Sai proceeded to give him an extremely thorough sponge bath of the sort that would have made even master Jiraiya blush. Naruto felt himself harden as he watched Sai stroke the dirt away from Sasuke's alabaster skin, his breath fast and ragged as the artist's dexterous hands played over the raven's nervous flesh. Sasuke bit his lip and tried to ignore the fact that he was being methodically caressed, that Sai was touching every inch of available skin. As for Sai, the artist clearly had some idea of what he was doing, but not enough to stop or make any real headway. After another few breathless minutes, Sasuke looked as if he might either pass out or kill someone and Naruto wondered if he should intervene.

True, the artist was making his feelings known, but Naruto was willing to bet that he did not have the slightest idea how Sasuke might react to the advance. Even if the raven decided to sleep with them instead of simply assaulting Sai, Naruto worried that things might not go smoothly. Sai was totally inexperienced and Sasuke was often unreservedly rough, which would be an awful combination. Naruto winced even thinking about it. Already, Sasuke overpowered Sai through the sheer force of his personality, dominating him without even laying a hand on the artist physically. The blond did not have much trouble picturing Sai hopelessly overcome by him, despite the fact that Sasuke was often a very awkward lover. As for Sai, Naruto had no idea how a person who had forgotten their emotions might react to sex, of any kind, much less with three other people. Kyuubi had told him to exert authority, but a kind of hierarchy was already forming and moving quickly beyond his influence. Sasuke and Sai were already performing a tempestuous dance of their own and if he didn't find some way to join them, something very bad might happen. Naruto wet his lips, watching them and feeling both aroused and terrified at the same time.

Sakura hummed seductively and licked his earlobe, sending shivers through Naruto's body as her warm mouth played over the sensitive flesh. Carefully, because Sasuke was looking overwhelmed and would never admit it, Naruto raised his good hand from Sakura's hip and beckoned to Sai. The artist noticed the gesture and paused, his hands stilling flat and firm over Sasuke's belly as if unwilling to move from the raven's quivering flesh. Sasuke glanced at Naruto, swallowing hard, cheeks flushed with both arousal and embarrassment. Naruto caught his subordinate's eyes, silently searching the obsidian depths for disapproval or anger and finding only well masked relief. The jinchuuriki waited a heartbeat and then another before Sai moved to kneel in front of him. The artist looked at him, and at Sakura, with the same kind of unswerving curiosity with which a child might survey a riksha accident, but said nothing. Naruto shifted Sakura onto his right knee, leaning close to Sai, testing his tolerance for the invasion of space. Sai blinked at him and leaned a little closer, moving close enough to taste Naruto's breath, but still too far away to truly engage. Sakura reached towards him, running her hand softly through his heavy hair, the touch both comforting and seductive.

"Come here." Naruto whispered, huskily.

"Why?" Sai asked.

"Because I'm going to kiss you…" Naruto replied, softly.

"Oh." Sai breathed, his eyes widening a fraction.

Obediently, the artist leaned closer and allowed Naruto to brush the milk-pale lips with his own. The touch was soft, charged with tension and something deeper, erotic and so different from kissing Sasuke. Sai was totally still against him, his lips smooth and dry, and as if afraid to move, afraid the moment would crack if he so much as breathed. Naruto let his mouth fall open, breathing deeply, searching for Sai's scent and the information that it would yield to him. The artist made a small sound, exciting and also worrisome, a sharp gasp of indrawn breath. Naruto sniffed, but smelled nothing. Suddenly bold, he pulled Sai closer and buried his nose in the smooth, heavy locks of Sai's coal black hair. Sai was there, close and willing, if tentative, but Naruto could not glean any scent from him. The jinchuuriki had no idea if the artist was aroused or frightened or angry… If he hadn't practically pulled the slender ninja half into his lap, Naruto would have never known that the other man was even there. He could smell the fresh, wintery smell of Sasuke's skin as the raven moved closer, running his hands appreciatively over the graceful angle of Sakura's hips. He could smell, too the musky, floral femininity of Sakura's arousal, but Sai was like a hole in the jinchuuriki's perceptions. The artist had no smell, none at all.

Naruto pulled back to look at him, slightly disturbed, but the artist's face was blank, placid, and his lips were moist and tempting. Root must have done something to him, something drastic and physical, to mask his smell so completely. Some kind of forbidden procedure, a drug or a chemical, was the only explanation for something so obviously unnatural. Sai blinked at him, waiting, awkward and a little afraid. Naruto brushed his cheek with the tender pad of a single clawed finger, feeling protective if no longer fully aroused. The experience had been like kissing a ghost, a phantom only partly ensconced in this world. Sakura watched him, her green eyes still and focused, letting her hand drift between his chest and Sai's hair and Sasuke's wrist. The girl moved a fraction and brushed her lips, feathery soft, over the artist's lips. Sai closed his eyes, relaxing into the kiss, letting Sakura lead him. The delicate flush over Sakura's cheek bones and the silky brush of Sai's eyelashes was lovely to watch, far more so than the jinchuuriki had imagined. She moved against him and the softness of her exquisite curves melted any reservation Naruto had left in his burning brain.

Smell or no smell, Sai was exquisite and familiar and Naruto wanted very much to understand him, his body, his reactions. Sasuke made a kind of giddy sighing noise as Sakura broke her kiss with Sai to suck the raven's fingers sensually into her mouth. Sai watched them, his breath coming in short gasps, paper pale cheeks colored with the barest hint of a blush. The jinchuuriki kissed him again, gently coaxing the quivering muscles of Sai's jaw to relax with slow, circular motions of his fingers. The artist opened his mouth, awkwardly, trying to follow and lost anyway. Naruto hummed hard and low, letting the sound drift against the pale ninja's uncertain lips, enjoying the thrilling quiver that cascaded through Sai's inexperienced flesh. Sasuke trembled as well, eyes growing large and dilated as the sound reached him over Sai's shoulder. Naruto brushed his tongue, light and unthreatening, over Sai's lower lip, enjoying the smooth texture of the other's skin and the delicate taste of his mouth. There was a kind of innocence in Sai's body and in his mouth that Naruto had never experienced before, a bit of wonder in the way that the artist gasped and leaned eagerly into the kiss.

Naruto pulled him close to straddle his left hip even as Sakura undulated against his right, enjoying the feel of Sai's knee against his growing erection and the slow slide of Sakura's body into his side. Sasuke was kissing Sakura deeply, his tongue plunging hard into her mouth even as she wound her powerful fingers through his ebony locks. The girl tensed against him, the hardened points of her nipples palpable against his chest. Sasuke hissed as Sakura's hand found his hardening erection, biting her lips sharply. His lovers warred with each other, both dominant and aroused and subconsciously seeking to assert power over one another. Naruto's breath caught just watching them. The kunoichi snarled a bit, nipping Sasuke's throat hard, inflaming his passion further and drawing him close against her back. The raven rocked erotically against the girl, grinding himself against the soft curve of her buttocks and thrusting her more fully against Naruto's body. Sasuke made a frustrated noise, reaching forward to hold Sakura's breasts through the thin silk of her robes. He caressed her, his hands against her flesh both possessive and supportive as the quiet tension of uncertainty slowly melted from Sasuke's limbs. Sakura blushed and leaned back into Sasuke's arms, submitting to his ardor.

"Sasuke…ah…" She groaned as he rubbed both thumbs over her nipples.

"Hmmm…big." He whispered appreciatively, stroking the tender flesh.

Naruto gasped, feeling warm and excited, and moved to hook a finger into the collar of Sai's fitted shirt. Sai swayed against him a bit uncertainly as Naruto pulled him into another kiss. The artist leaned fully into his body then, allowing Naruto to stroke the elegant curve of his waist. Sai's body was like a steel cable, thin and hard and exceptionally flexible. The jinchuuriki shivered as he pushed his tongue into the pale man's mouth, savoring the easy submission that Sai offered to him. Sasuke reached for him then, trailing his fingers softly against the sensitive flesh of Naruto's nipples. Even through the light t-shirt, the touch was electric and Naruto cupped his still injured hand gingerly over the raven's cheek to feel the slight pressure of Sakura's tongue from within. Sasuke, his Sasuke, was flushed and delicious as he boldly thrust a hand into Sakura's kimono and cupped the other around Naruto's aching length, rubbing roughly beneath Sai's knee. Sai gasped to see it, suddenly looking slightly unsure, but Naruto's arm around his waist was like iron. The jinchuuriki explored the white perfection of Sai's neck, enjoying the texture of the fine scars on the artist's pale skin. He sucked and nibbled, enjoying the firm strength of Sasuke's hand as the ink nin shivered against him.

Naruto held his mates and Sai in a hot tangle of roving limbs and wanting mouths, the feel of them almost overwhelming his control. He ran the deadly tips of his claws over Sasuke's naked shoulder as his other hand came to rest comfortably on the muscular swell of Sai's buttock. Sasuke groaned at his touch and Sai moved wantonly against him, both of the artist's hands holding tight to his shoulders. Sakura's kimono had been tugged down from her shoulders by Sasuke's powerful caresses and the rosy mounds of her perfect breasts were visible above the cloth.

Tentatively, Sai reached across Naruto's chest to run his fingers over the tempting flesh of Sakura's almost-naked breasts, his breath coming fast as the girl arched up into the touch. Naruto rocked his hips against them, the unswerving roughness of Sasuke's hand against his erection making him moan aloud. The feel of them, it was too hot, too much. Naruto groaned and moved to pull Sai's shirt off, eager to see the smooth expanse of his muscular chest as Sasuke finally pulled Sakura's kimono down around her hips. Sai stared at her exposed breasts, only moving when Naruto tugged at his shirt impatiently. The artist raised his arms, allowing the jinchuuriki to undress him and then all of them were topless and flushed with desire.

"Naruto-sama?"

"Ah!" Sakura shrieked in shock as Sasuke moved to cover her with his hands.

The whole effect was to make the pink haired kunoichi look even more scandalous than before, with Sasuke's hands flat over her breasts and her clothing in hot disarray around her hips. Not that Sai looked much better, flushed and shirtless and shamelessly straddling Naruto's thigh. Naruto almost growled, but bit back the sound, pulling all of them closer protectively.

"Yuko-san!" Sasuke snapped, blushing hard.

"Forgive me the…err…intrusion. I had no idea that you might be so engaged in the sitting room." Yuko san said steadily, taking in the sight of the four of them with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah…um…why are you here?" Naruto asked, grabbing Sai's hair as the artist tried to kiss him again.

"There is a Hyuuga delegation at the gates requesting an audience. Neji Hyuuga is with them." The old woman said quietly.

"Kami…" Sasuke breathed, eyes wide and startled.

"What could they want?" Naruto asked the raven, but his subordinate just shook his head.

"I don't know." Sasuke replied quietly.

"Oh, does that mean no more kissing?" Sai asked, sounding mildly disappointed as he rocked against Naruto again.

"Sai…" The jinchuuriki hissed, wondering if it was possible to pass out from embarrassment alone.

"Yes, Sai. It does." Sakura sighed, blushing hotly as she pulled the cloth of her robes over her naked chest.

Naruto groaned and released his grip on the artist's ass, letting Sai slide out of his lap to sit on the floor with an awkward kind of finality. Sasuke gently helped Sakura to her feet, putting his body between her and the door as if assassins might come bursting through the portal at any second. Naruto flexed his injured hand, trying to calm the panic twisting in his guts, trying to think, to decide what to do. Sai looked at him steadily, trying to understand.

"Everyone hurry and go get cleaned up, we don't have much time. Sakura, find Sai some livery. You can borrow one of my kimonos or Naruto's, but he has to look definitively like he's with us." Sasuke ordered.

"Am I definitively with you?" Sai asked, still sitting on the floor.

"You're already letting Naruto have his way with your mouth, so I would say so." Sasuke snapped irately, obviously worried about how to handle the situation.

"No one's fucked me yet." Sai noted.

"That's because you keep acting so stupid! Get MOVING!" Sasuke barked.

"You are easily upset. That must be…inconvenient for you." Sai said dully.

"You have not seen me upset…" Sasuke growled.

"Take it easy Teme, he's going. Sai, go with Sakura. Now." Naruto ordered softly.

"Come on Sai, let's get ready." Sakura said gently, tugging the artist up and towards the bedroom.

"Okay." Sai said, smiling rather falsely at her, but following nonetheless.

"Yuko, respectfully serve them our finest tea and wait for us, we won't be long. Do not answer any questions or allow them to make any additional demands of you." Sasuke said to the worried housekeeper who nodded and rushed off to fulfill his instructions.

"What do I do, Teme? I don't know how to do this." Naruto whispered, feeling lost.

Sasuke locked eyes with him, his face steady and still, but Naruto could read with quiet terror in his posture and the subtle way that the raven moved on the balls of his feet. He was worried, very worried and trying hard not to show it. Naruto sighed, allowing himself a moment of panic as well, wondering what such a meeting could possibly be about. Sasuke came close, close enough that the hot ghost of his breath warmed Naruto's cheek. He smiled, the gesture both innocent and dark with a hint of teasing conspiracy, the smile of a child who knew beyond a doubt that he was cleverer than everyone else. Naruto stared into the inky depths of his subordinate's eyes and saw, as he always had, love sharpened by fierceness. Sasuke tilted his head and kissed him softly, his lips strong and sure against his own. The strength in his mouth was a lie, but it was a good one and Naruto needed to believe so that he could do what was needed.

"Be strong. Only compromise when I gesture to you." Sasuke whispered.

"I will. I am…so glad that I have you, baka. Believe it." Naruto replied, embracing him.

"I know. You'd be lost without me, moron." Sasuke whispered and kissed him again.

OoOoOoO

Sakura sat nervously, feeling awkward in her formal kimono as she locked eyes with the Hyuuga team kneeling on cushions across the tea table. Naruto sat in the center of his family with Sasuke situated just behind his right shoulder and Sakura behind his left with Sai kneeling close by her side. The artist looked strange in Sasuke's kimono, the clothing being just a bit too big for him, but his face was as impassive as ever and so far he had chosen to remain silent. Naruto coughed a little into his tea and Sakura was tempted to reach for his hand, but worried that the gesture would be noticed by the Hyuuga ninja and somehow used against them. The jinchuuriki tapped his fingers against the hidden hilt of his kunai and Sakura knew that he was very nervous even if he was hiding it well. Sasuke, however, just looked annoyed. The girl sat quietly and tried to look relaxed while still keeping one hand wrapped hard around Sai's wrist in case she had to silence him quickly. The artist certainly wasn't stupid, but fragile political negotiation had never been his forte.

Sakura drank her tea, barely tasting it, and focused her attention on Neji where the Hyuuga genius sat ensconced within the center of his team. Something about the way that the other ninja had arranged themselves around him gave her the distinct impression that he was not their leader, though that would have normally been the case. Neji was dressed in a pale green kimono of silk so thin that it was practically transparent and Sakura knew that Naruto was specifically trying to avoid looking at him for fear of blushing again. She had already seen Neji totally naked while treating him in the hospital, but the clothing was still quite shocking. With the dramatic addition of black eyeliner to his already striking silvery white eyes, Neji's appearance had startled all of them and even Sai had to be prevented from pointing at him when they first entered the room. Sakura had never seen Neji use cosmetics, not even during the mission they had run to Suna where the sun was so bright that even Kiba Inuzuka had relented and applied the kohl to guard against the glare. Even more worrisome was the dark red blush spread over his cheeks and the way that he seemed slightly out of breath, panting softly with his mouth open. The man almost looked feverish, but Neji wasn't pale or ill looking and there was a thin mist of sweat over his skin. He looked Sakura thought, like some weird combination between a Suna courtesan and a victim of jungle fever. Either way, Sakura was certain that something was seriously wrong with him.

"What business brings you to us today?" Naruto said with a wide smile, his teeth looking just a little too sharp.

"The business of a debt unpaid, my lord." The female ninja leading the group, Sakura was pretty sure her name was Suki, replied.

"A debt?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Yes. You saved Neji's life…" Suki continued, bowing low before him.

"Oh! Well, that was nothing, I mean…not nothing of course…but, he's my friend and all…" Naruto laughed, nervously rubbing the back of his head.

"Regardless, Hyuuga Hiashi-sama offers you the marriage contract of Hyuuga Neji in appreciation of…" Suki continued in a polite monotone.

"Wait! What!" Naruto shouted, almost rising.

"Hyuuga Neji is offered to you as a subordinate in recognition of your service to the Hyuuga clan. He will serve you well and give strength to your offspring." Suki continued.

Sakura swallowed hard and glanced at Neji, but he appeared almost unaware of the announcement, his expression distant and listless. Sakura bit her lip, her hand shaking so badly on Sai's wrist that the artist turned and put his other hand over top of hers as if to still it. Naruto looked as though he might presently have a seizure, sitting with his mouth open and his eyes wide with shock. The jinchuuriki probably would have been standing except for the firm grip Sasuke had on the back of his belt. Sai blinked and looked like he wanted to ask a question, but Sakura caught the ink nin's eye and shook her head.

"Um…That is very, very nice… and all, but um…well…I'm not even really sure the bed is big enough and…" Naruto fumbled, red faced and panicked.

Neji swallowed, his mouth becoming a thin, tense line. To Sakura, he seemed almost terrified by Naruto's hesitance, but the girl had no idea why. The Hyuuga closed his kohl lined eyes and waited as Naruto stuttered.

"We accept your offer." Sasuke said, his voice strong and heavy with authority.

"We…we WHAT?" Naruto hissed.

"We will gratefully accept Neji as a member of our household." Sasuke announced as Naruto's mouth fell open.

"Sasuke…" Naruto whispered, uncomfortable.

"Forgive my alpha. He is startled by the great honor you show us in offering such a match." Sasuke continued, shooting Naruto a significant look.

The jinchuuriki quieted though his face was pale and very serious as he turned to face the waiting Hyuugas. Naruto was angry, very angry and hiding the emotion as well as he ever hid anything, which was to say rather poorly. Sakura suddenly felt extremely nauseas and hoped desperately that her discomfort did not show on her face. Sasuke, for all his chilly confidence, was clearly upset, his fingers twitching angrily against the hilt of his lavender sword. Naruto took a breath and glared with enough blue eyed brilliance at the wood of the tea table that Sakura thought it might actually ignite. The jinchuuriki allowed a tense moment to pass before speaking again.

"Forgive me, I was surprised. I accept the marriage proposal, gladly. Neji is an excellent ninja and I would be honored to have him by my side." Naruto said and bowed formally onto his elbows.

"Yuko-san, please escort our honored guests to the gate." Sasuke ordered softly.

The old woman appeared from the other side of the screen doors, bowed low before Neji's entourage and silently led them away. Naruto sat for a heartbeat and then another, arms crossed over his chest, and scowling savagely at the floor. Neji looked at him and then at Sakura and seemed to deflate a bit. The air was thick with Naruto's anger and Sasuke's secrets and the only sound was Neji's soft panting. Taking a breath through her nose in an attempt to ward off the nausea, Sakura stood and moved to kneel beside the Hyuuga. He looked at her, but the gaze was unfocused and Neji leaned heavily onto his left arm as if close to swooning.

"Sakura…have you come to save me again?" He whispered, smiling bitterly.

"Everything is going to be okay, Neji." She whispered, gently taking his hand and reading his pulse.

Neji closed his eyes, frowning slightly, clearly disoriented. Naruto rose from where he had been kneeling, looking only slightly less furious than he had before, and moved over to crouch next to Sakura. The girl ran a nail experimentally over the flesh of Neji's palm, feeling a deep chill when the Hyuuga shivered and sighed at the touch. Naruto's eyes widened and Sasuke bit his lip. The Hyuuga had obviously been given a powerful aphrodisiac, which explained both the flush and the glassy cast to his eyes. Such drugs were forbidden, and with good reason, but she had read that some of the high families still used them in secret. Even more unnervingly, Neji had also taken some kind of sedative, making him weak and unbalanced. The drugs were, perhaps, the only way to make someone powerful and dangerous into a victim. The thought made her even sicker than she already felt and Sakura struggled to keep her expression neutral as she assessed the rest of his vital signs. The more she learned about various clan traditions, the more Sakura came to loathe them, especially the ones that endangered someone's health. She grit her teeth as Neji shakily mopped his face with the back of his hand.

"We had to agree. To refuse a marriage offer of this kind would have meant war!" Sasuke hissed, angry with Naruto's silence.

"Yes…War…please…we can't have war…" Neji panted.

"We will discuss this later, Teme, believe it." Naruto snarled at Sasuke.

"They've drugged him." Sakura whispered.

"We had no choice." Sasuke said again, his voice tight and angry.

"What did they him?" Naruto asked, still furiously ignoring Sasuke.

"A potent mix of aphrodisiacs and sedatives…" Sakura sighed.

"Why?" Sai asked.

"To make it easier for someone to rape him." Naruto spat with disgust.

"It's just tradition…" Sasuke tried to explain.

"Sasuke…" Naruto warned.

"You don't understand how these things are done!" Sasuke argued.

"I don't understand." Sai said quietly.

"Peh, neither do I." Sakura hissed sarcastically.

"Enough." Naruto growled, the sound low and livid.

Sakura bit her lip and Sasuke swallowed whatever it was that he had been planning to say. Sai looked from one to the other, his fingers nervously stroking a kunai, obviously confused and trying to make sense of what had just happened. The jinchuuriki ground his teeth, took a steadying breath and moved to pull Neji into his arms. He lifted the Hyuuga genius as one would a tired child, holding him against his chest with Neji's long legs draped gracelessly over his arm. Neji moaned and quivered as Naruto's hand brushed over his sensitized skin and even Sasuke blushed and looked away in shame.

"It's okay, buddy, you'll feel better soon." Naruto whispered, meeting Neji's eyes.

"I…I'm fine. No war…please…no war." Neji whispered.

"No. There won't be any war. You did fine. Just relax." Naruto said, forcing a small smile.

"W…Would you have ever thought…you and I…like this?" Neji asked, stroking Naruto's face in a gesture both disbelieving and slightly forward.

"Yeah, the Hyuuga clan's greatest genius and the village idiot. Life can be weird." Naruto agreed.

Neji smiled a bit at that and let his head rest against Naruto's shoulder. Naruto closed his eyes for a moment and Sakura thought he might say something more, but the jinchuuriki just sighed instead and moved to stand. The glistening curtain of Neji's long mahogany hair swept the floor as Naruto rose and there was something so strange and erotic about the pale disarray of his limbs that Sakura found herself blushing. Sai finally stood and moved to open the door for Naruto as the jinchuuriki turned to take Neji into their home. Gently, Naruto carried the man who had once been his most challenging opponent from the room.

OoOoOoO

Neji woke to bright sunlight scattering off of pure white bedding and orange ochre tapestries sparkling with tiny steel bells. Everything was unfamiliar, certainly not any place he had ever been. Neji bolted awake at once, sitting up suddenly and regretting the action as soon as the unrelenting pounding in his head clarified into the true agony that it was. He groaned. Every muscle in his body ached, cramping hard even at the slightest movement, and he felt decidedly nauseas. The sensation was not completely unlike how he had felt the morning following the time he and Anko had shared a bottle of sake that had turned into many, but the pain was several times more intense. Neji was sweaty and cold, but his lips were dry. He tried to get a bearing on his surroundings finding both a door leading deeper into the building and opposing sliding doors left open to the morning breeze. For that he was grateful, even if the slight edge of cold on the wind chilled him a bit. The open doors soothed any feelings of confinement and Neji felt his heartbeat begin to slow a little.

Though his memories of the previous day were fractured and uncertain, Neji knew at once that he was in the Uchiha manor, probably some accessory room away from the main living quarters. Even if he hadn't remembered anything, Neji would have known at once that this was Naruto's home from the sheer profusion of orange, the fiery blond's favorite color. The dark, polished wood of the floor reflected the morning sunlight as gauzy orange curtains stirred in the slight breeze and there where orange sitting pillows piled in comfortable disarray on tatami mats in the far corner. The décor was tasteful, if bright, and Neji found that he liked the combination of the creamy white walls with the dark orange curtains and tapestries. Naruto loved obnoxious colors, everyone knew that, but apparently someone had managed to make the bright orange a pleasing accoutrement to a room. Neji could not really imagine Sasuke being capable of any kind of tasteful decorating scheme and so he figured that Sakura must have been the one to design the home. Someone had left a full cup of tea near his head and Neji sipped the beverage gratefully, wondering what to do, how to start. He sighed, gritting his teeth against the pain in his head. The tea was a mixture of mint and chamomile and it warmed him without setting his already frantic nerves any more on edge. The birds sang enthusiastically outside and the Hyuuga wondered briefly if it was their song that had woken him, at least until he heard the shouting.

"I don't care what other clans do! You are NOT entitled to make a decision like that without even asking everybody else!" Naruto roared, his voice only slightly muffled by the wall.

"I did what I had to do to keep us safe!" Sasuke snarled, sounding equally angry.

"You're the one always worried about spies! What the HELL were you thinking!" Naruto railed.

"Look, I didn't want to, but there wasn't any way out of it…" Sasuke snapped.

"So I'm just supposed to, what, wait a few years and then send him back?" Naruto argued.

"No. Keep him and put him under the thrall."

"WHAT!"

"Fuck him and then you control him! Until he is under the thrall he's a threat to us!" Sasuke urged.

"Are you completely out of your FUCKING MIND!"

"That's the only way to be sure!"

"Be sure? Be sure of WHAT? What the HELL are you even talking about?" Naruto shouted.

"The thrall will ensure that he won't work to betray us…" Sasuke said, sighing with exasperation.

"Oh, sure, I'll just go rape one of my friends. Yeah. Of course. Right away. We've been through this, Teme…!" Naruto spat bitterly.

"I doubt he'll resist you." Sasuke growled.

"Sasuke! You just don't get it! You can't just DO that to people!" Naruto argued.

"Just FUCK him, Naruto! You can have your petty moral dilemma about it later, when we no longer have an active THREAT inside our home!" Sasuke shouted.

"No, dammit! I'm not your FUCKING WHORE!"

Neji winced as a large crash resonated through the house. There was the sound of stomping feet and furniture being shoved aside and another heavy thud that shook the very floor upon which he lay.

"Naruto, don't break things just because you're angry!" Sasuke shouted.

"SHUT UP! All of this mess is YOUR fault!" Naruto roared.

"My FAULT! How DARE you!" Sasuke returned.

"You shouldn't have just agreed! You decided, on your OWN, for us to MARRY somebody!"

"If YOU hadn't overstepped your bounds to save him, NONE of this would have happened! And what about Sai? You made that decision for all of us and you sure as FUCK didn't ask ME!" Sasuke roared.

"Sakura made the decision and that's different! Sai was our teammate all the while you were off sacrificing the fucking world to your own GOD DAMNED EGO!" Naruto shouted.

There was a soft knock at the door and Neji jumped a little. Taking a breath and trying not to look too startled, he softly invited the person in. Sakura opened the door with her toe, carrying a large jar of sandalwood oil, and a kettle of hot water. The girl smiled at him shyly. Sai followed her carrying a small stack of towels and a small basket with a hair brush, tooth brush and a few other items.

"Sakura…" Neji said, blushing hard and unsure what else to say.

"Good morning, Neji. How are you feeling?" The rose haired kunoichi asked, smiling a bit uncertainly.

"Um… awful actually." He whispered.

"You look awful too." Sai noted.

"Eh, Sai, that's rude…" Sakura hissed.

"No…I mean…I'm sure I do." Neji sighed, feeling awkward.

"You HAD to know that this would happen! It's just a political marriage, Baka! It doesn't MEAN ANYTHING!" Sasuke snarled.

"How can something like a MARRIAGE mean NOTHING, Sasuke!"

"They are fighting." Sai said, his face impassive.

"Yes. They are." Sakura said tightly as she poured the water into a large, white basin.

"Have…have they been fighting long?" Neji asked softly.

"All night." Sakura replied, setting the towels into the water and looking carefully at her hands.

"They fight a lot." Sai said, shrugging.

"Not like this." Sakura sighed.

"Oh…I'm so sorry." Neji said, biting his lip.

"When I asked for your help this was NOT what I MEANT! DAMMIT!" Naruto railed.

"This was the only thing we could DO! They put us into a CORNER! Don't you UNDERSTAND?" Sasuke roared.

"I would if you ever bothered to EXPLAIN anything!" Naruto countered

"I wouldn't HAVE to if you weren't so fucking STUPID!"

"Bastard!"

"Moron!"

"Asshole!"

"Dead Last!"

"Crazy mass MURDERER!"

"See, they're almost done!" Sai said, smiling brightly.

"Right, it's only been a mere 14 hours." Sakura grumbled.

"Done?" Neji asked as the sound of breaking glass rang through the house.

"Don't worry about it." Sakura said, smiling comfortingly.

"You are sincerely the DUMBEST person I have ever met!" Sasuke railed.

"And you're the CRAZIEST!"

"Just FUCK him already!"

"I said no GOD DAMMIT and I mean NO!"

"Are we going to sleep with Neji? That seems somewhat…sudden." Sai said, blinking.

Sakura colored brilliantly and coughed into her hand. Neji blushed as well and decided that the weave of his comforter was suddenly very interesting. Sai crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at Neji. Somehow the expression carried no emotion whatsoever, merely a gesture that the artist had learned to copy, likely from Sasuke. The overall effect was quite creepy.

"Um…no, not right now." Sakura whispered, looking slightly green.

"BAKA!"

"BASTARD!"

"Tell me how you feel exactly Neji." Sakura said rubbing her temple as if to soothe a headache of her own.

"Just sore, though I do have a fairly severe headache." He replied.

"Hmmm. I thought you might. I don't know what the drugs you took were, exactly, but those kinds of aphrodisiacs force your nerves to fire inappropriately. The effect is to make you more sensitive to touch, especially erotic touch, but after the drug wears away your nerves are fatigued and unresponsive to their normal signaling. The muscle pain is from disruption of the neuromuscular junction. That's also what causes the muscle spasms." Sakura explained mainly, Neji thought, to have something to say.

"Oh." He replied.

"Can I give him a sponge bath?" Sai asked.

"No."

"You know, you're a SHITTY alpha!"

"Well…you were a SHITTY best friend!"

Silence reigned after that, though Neji did not miss the fact that Sakura put her hand over her mouth, as if to stifle a sound she never made. For a moment everyone was frozen, too tense to move, waiting. Sakura took a shuddering breath and Sai put a hand protectively against her shoulder. Neji felt suddenly very much as though he was intruding upon something very personal and very private.

"I wasn't trying to be your friend…" Sasuke said so softly that Neji had to strain to hear him.

"Teme, I'm sorry. That…that wasn't fair. It was DIFFERENT with you, it was…you would have DIED!" Naruto shouted desperately.

"No. It's fair and….there isn't anything I can do about that. What you don't realize is that it IS the SAME. If you had sent Neji back with your refusal…they could have easily KILLED him." Sasuke shouted, his voice shaking only a little

"Sasuke…but…why?" Naruto asked, his voice shocked.

"I don't KNOW! For failing, for the sheer SHAME of it! Look, I get it, okay? I know that this isn't the world you know, the one you grew up in. You are just going to have to TRUST me!" Sasuke urged, sounding desperate.

"You BARELY understand it yourself!"

"Dobe, just…AHHHH! Why are you SO DIFFICULT!" Sasuke railed.

"Look! I'm SORRY! Okay? I just…this is big, okay? I don't know what to do about this. I'm not ready to just FORCE him. That won't make anything better, believe it." Naruto said firmly.

"You really ARE being stupid…" Sasuke hissed hotly.

"I don't CARE. You know, you KNOW that isn't right!" Naruto shouted, sounding close to tears.

"It's what they expect…"

"I KNOW that!"

"Whether you like it or not, he is HERE, with US! There isn't anywhere else he can go!" Sasuke said.

"I just want…I just want all of us to be okay." Naruto said, sounding very tired.

"I know." Sasuke replied, speaking softly again.

Neji let out the breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding. His head hurt very badly and his chest too and he had never wanted to so badly just to disappear. Sakura sighed shakily, cupping her hand briefly over her eyes, before turning again to her task. The girl added a bit more water to the basin and rearranged the other items again before she raised her face.

"Sai, please go check on Sasuke and Naruto." She ordered softly.

"What if…" Sai began.

"Just go." Sakura hissed.

Sai rose and wordlessly left the room. Sakura took a deep breath, clenching her fists tightly before meeting Neji's eyes once again. The look in the emerald green portals was enough to send a shiver coursing through his spine. The girl looked furious and terrified and concerned all at the same time, her green eyes both damp and hard in a way Neji had never encountered before. Even Anko had never managed such depth of emotional complexity, especially with the many ways in which the woman masked her feelings. To see it, so much, laid bare and raw before him was new and startling. Neji swallowed hard and closed his eyes against the agonizing pounding in his head. Carefully, because his muscles seemed inclined to refuse his commands, Neji allowed himself to sink back down onto the mattress. The ceiling was easier to look at than Sakura's face and, lying down, Neji at least removed the danger of fainting and breaking his own nose.

"I…I'm sorry about that. I really should have warded this room so you couldn't hear them." Sakura said after a while.

"No. I should hear it. All of this is my fault." Neji replied, turning away.

"No! That's wrong! Not any of this is your fault!" Sakura hissed, her voice low and angry.

"But…How can you even say that?" Neji whispered, amazed at the fierceness in her tone.

"Did you choose to come here? Did you choose to do so drugged into a stupor and wearing that?" Sakura snarled, gesturing angrily to where the sheer green kimono hung by the door.

Neji winced and looked away. Perhaps she was right, he hadn't chosen to simply throw his life as a respected ANBU officer away in favor of being Naruto's courtesan. Neji didn't know anything about how jinchuuriki conducted their households, but if Gaara's lifestyle was any indication, he had entered the Uzumaki house with the lowest status of any of Naruto's subordinates. Still, there hadn't been any choices, no other options, even if Hinata seemed to think differently. Everything about being here, as both a peace offering and a spy, felt wrong.

"It's easy to choose when you have no choices." Neji whispered.

"Yes, that is easy." Sakura said and her tone was mildly reproachful.

"My opinion upsets you." Neji said, his voice growing colder.

"I…I do not think that you value yourself highly enough." The girl replied as she wrung one of the now steaming towels between her hands.

Neji said nothing as Sakura bathed his face with the cloth, the heat of the water wonderful against his dry, aching skin. With barely a pause, Sakura parted his kimono and proceeded to wash his chest with a thoroughness that only someone who had worked in medicine for many years could achieve. Neji blushed, only Anko had ever touched him so intimately, but allowed her to bathe him without complaint.

"Just relax. It's only water, it doesn't mean anything. Here, sit up." She whispered.

Neji complied, moving to kneel with his back to the pink haired kunoichi as the girl tugged the kimono off from around his shoulders. Neji gasped and bit his lip, hoping desperately that Sakura hadn't heard the noise. Whether she heard or not, the girl moved the hot cloth over his shoulders in soothing circles, gently easing the fiery pain out of his muscles and cleaning away the sweat from the night before. After a while, Neji found himself relaxing a little into her ministrations. Her hands were so soft, nothing like Anko's calloused palms, and confident as she gently cupped his elbow and moved the cloth boldly over his arm and wrist. She washed his lower back all the way down to his hips and both of his arms before gently turning his hands up and washing his palms. There was something intimate in the act and yet totally unthreatening.

"Better?" She asked, smiling a little.

"Yes…" Neji whispered, finding it just a bit hard to breathe.

"Lie down and I'll do something for the pain." Sakura said, pushing the glittering pink haired out of her eyes.

"I would not refuse a painkiller." Neji admitted, though his headache was already beginning to ease.

"I can't give you a painkiller. Most of those drugs work the same way your aphrodisiacs did and your synapses haven't recovered enough for it to make any difference." Sakura explained.

"Oh. Then…?" Neji asked.

"Something a little nicer." Sakura said as Neji moved to lie prone, letting his head rest on his own crossed forearms.

The girl poured a measure of the oil into her hand and waited a moment, letting the lubricant warm a fraction against the heat of her own skin. Neji licked his lips, suddenly quite nervous. Sakura coated his back and shoulders in the fragrant oil and gently began to knead the hard, painful knots out of his muscles. The massage was painful, at times almost excruciating, but the relief it brought was unmistakable. After what felt like a very long time, his muscles had relaxed enough for the touch to be pleasurable and Neji let a soft sigh escape his lips. Satisfied with the state of his back, Sakura rubbed the tension out of his arms and hands, pausing only to crack the stiffness out of his spine or re-align the bones of his wrists. Soon Neji could only manage to focus on the sensation of her hands and the gentle way that she was chasing the terrible ache out of his flesh.

"Hmmm…What an interesting scar…" Sakura murmured, running her clever fingers over his left shoulder.

Neji's breath caught hard in his throat as Sakura touched the same place where Anko had cut him. He swallowed hard as her fingers traced the lines, unerringly mapping out the evidence of his single night of masochism. The mesh-like series of wounds had healed well, with barely a mark to attest to their existence, but apparently Sakura's hands were sensitive enough to tell the difference. Neji blushed hard and was unable to stop as a deep quiver ran through his flesh.

"Yes…I…I…" Neji stuttered, panicked.

"Shhh…we don't have to talk about it." Sakura said and continued with her massage as if nothing had happened at all.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sai bonds further with Sai over a bloody kiss and Neji is invited into the family dynamic of Clan Uzumaki against his will and better judgement. Unfortunately, he finds the experience far too pleasant for his liking.

The hierarchy of a Jinchuuriki's subordinates is not like that of a conventional harem, in which the women may claim their status based purely upon the order in which they were married. Subordinates are selected from the strongest ninja of any given population and so it is almost inevitable that powerful personalities may come to clash until a kind of balance is found. Who becomes a leader in the pack and who follows has more to do with each individuals personal strengths and vulnerabilities than it does the will of the alpha. Many argue that without the thrall, subordinates would have no affection for one another at all, but my own observations indicate quite the reverse. The pack dynamic promotes affection, not despite the differences between subordinates, but because of them.

-Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons

Sai found Naruto and Sasuke resting against one another's backs in the midst of what appeared to be the aftermath of some kind of natural disaster. The two men were shakily sipping tea from chipped cups, silently taking comfort from each other and ignoring the overturned chair and broken furniture that surrounded them. Sai felt something sharp and hurtful lance through his belly. He suddenly felt distant and a bit lost, and he wanted…he wanted… Truthfully he didn't know what he wanted, but the hurt brought blood to his face and made Sai feel slightly faint. The artist clenched his hands, feeling strange, unsure of whether he should speak or move or simply just leave the way he had come. They were here, together, and it was…special. Something so special and intimate between the two of them and he had never known that kind of deep trust and affection from another person. Sai coughed a little and bit his lip. Sasuke raised his eyes and appraised him slowly, before leaning his head back against Naruto's shoulder with a long sigh.

"Don't be jealous. I'll let Naruto keep you up all fucking night next time." Sasuke snapped sourly.

"Jealous?" Sai asked, lowering his eyes.

"Yes, idiot, you're practically green with it…which makes no damn sense by the way." Sasuke replied irately.

"Oh. You just seem so intimate…" Sai whispered.

"Intimately exhausted…." Sasuke grumbled, yawning.

"…And not in the good way." Naruto added.

"Oh." Sai said and tried to halt the blush creeping over his face. Naruto noticed, his blue eyes blood shot with fatigue, but the gaze was still steady and warm.

"Sai, come here." Naruto whispered, his voice raw from shouting.

Obediently, Sai moved to kneel before the jinchuuriki, noticing that he looked exhausted. Naruto smiled at him a little and raised one of his hands to touch the artist's hair affectionately. Just as before, Sai felt his body respond deeply to the touch, his skin feeling hot and his breath coming faster. The artist leaned into the caress, letting Naruto's rough and wonderful hand stroke his cheek. The jinchuuriki's hands were so beautiful, mobile and sensual and complicated with texture, the sensation of them against his face made Sai shiver and gasp. Porcelain shards, probably from another teacup, had healed shallowly into the flesh of Naruto's left palm and Sai knew that Sakura would be very angry when she saw them. The girl hated it when they were hurt. Gently, he took Naruto's hand from where it rested against his cheek and brought it to his lips, dexterously breaking the skin with his teeth. Naruto hissed in pain, but made no effort to move away and Sai felt the fluttery sensation in his belly turn hot. Sasuke turned to watch as Sai nibbled the shards out of the blond's flesh with his teeth and tongue, pausing only to spit bits of broken porcelain to the side. The men were silent while he coaxed the foreign material out of Naruto's palm, working his tongue into the bleeding lacerations, searching for more of the splinters. The weight of their eyes was heavy against the top of Sai's head as he bent to the task and the ink nin suddenly had to exert additional effort to keep his hands from shaking. The artist had done this once before, only once, when Shin had hurt himself in a fight at a tavern.

There was an intimacy in this that he had never shared with anyone else. Before meeting Naruto, digging the broken glass out of Shin's hands with his mouth had been the closest he had ever come, physically, to another human being. His brother had merely sat, face as blank and emotionless as his own, as Sai pulled out the glass. Even then, the experience had been like a thunderclap in the otherwise emotionally silent course of Sai's life. Root had taught them that touch meant nothing unless it was to kill and Sai had known that by touching Shin that way he was rejecting everything he had ever known. That night he had willingly betrayed the most fundamental tenet of Root's very existence and lost his ability to maintain absolute emptiness. If Danzo had seen them, if anyone had seen them, Sai would have been killed instantly and Shin would have been tortured for allowing such a betrayal to take place. To do such a thing, to touch to heal and bring relief, was against their vows. The fear of it, the quivery terror that someone might see or that Danzo might somehow know, had colored the act and the memory with the thin veil of unpleasantness.

Now, the touch of his lips against Naruto's hand was only stimulating and a bit warm. There was no fear, and for that Sai felt slightly ashamed. Something so deep, so quivering and taboo should have been frightening and all Sai could feel was hot and nervous and totally absorbed. Naruto sighed softly and the artist trembled at the sound as a gentle thrill of pleasure ran through his flesh. There really should have been fear, and if not that than at least pain in the act. To disobey everything so thoroughly should have hurt somehow and yet there was only heat and sensation and a bit of fluttery trembling in his belly that had nothing to do with fear. Truly, Sai had been a traitor since the moment he had pressed the flesh of Shin's knuckles to his lips. He was as much a traitor as Sasuke had ever been, shaming the people who had raised him, rejecting the teachings of his very religion. Root did not accept weakness and Sai had been weak, too weak to resist the urge to help, to soothe the pain away. Perhaps Danzo might have forgiven him that, a mistake made by a child, but worse even than the act itself had been the knowledge that he had enjoyed it. Sai had enjoyed that feel of Shin's flesh against his lips immensely. To his shame, Sai replayed the moment over and over in his mind, trying to memorize every detail, every sensation. Now, with his loyalty to Root renounced, Sai welcomed the emotion and merely tried to understand.

Shin had watched and said nothing, which was in itself a kind of communication, but Naruto was different. The blond sighed and groaned and gasped beneath his lips and Sai had never realized that something like sound could affect him so deeply. Naruto's voice made his pulse loud in his ears and the untouched flesh of his penis firm and sensitive. Sai blushed, the fear finally coming, but it was not enough for him to stop. Blood ran fresh and clear from the wounds and even though he knew that there were no more ceramic pieces left, Sai was loathe to move his mouth away. Softly, his lips shaking despite the efforts he made to still them, Sai kissed Naruto's hand. The blond gasped and the sound made Sai feel suddenly very, very glad that he had disobeyed Root and come into Naruto's life. The artist kissed him again, letting his lips play over the tiny holes in Naruto's skin as they closed and healed fully. The taste of Naruto's blood was sharp in his mouth, but not unpleasant. The jinchuuriki curled his fingers up, brushing his claws over Sai's jaw and the ink nin shut his eyes tightly against the sudden flood of emotions that the sensation brought. He pulled back a bit, overwhelmed, trying to make his heart slower, trying to ignore the electric tingling in his lips…

"Sai…" Naruto whispered, his pupils huge and dark.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Sasuke asked, dark eyes intense and watchful over Naruto's shoulder.

"I saw it once." Sai whispered, hiding his face behind his hair.

"In Root?" Sasuke pushed, narrowing his eyes.

"No." Sai practically hissed.

"Oh…then on a mission?" Naruto offered gently, hooking his fingers under Sai's chin to tilt his face up to meet them.

"Yes…it was a woman and she was digging shrapnel out of her husband's back, they didn't have any medical tools. He died anyway, though." Sai replied dully.

"Thank you, Sai. I'm not going to die from this, believe it." Naruto said, smiling brightly.

"I…you are welcome." The artist replied quietly, blushing hard.

Sasuke looked odd for a moment, like he wanted to ask another question, but the dark haired killer remained silent. The moment stretched long between them, no one speaking, only breathing and thinking. Naruto brushed his fingers through the artist's hair affectionately and Sai finally managed to take an entire breath of air. He licked the few drops of Naruto's blood off of his fingers and Sasuke watched him like a cat might watch a bird, his cheeks flushed and his eyes almost hungry. Sai noted Sasuke's expression and found it strange, but he did not know what to make of the raven's reactions beyond merely appreciating the fact that they existed. Suddenly, Sasuke moved and in a blink the raven's face was barely an inch from his own. Sai lowered his hand and looked into the inky pools of the other man's eyes, painfully aware that in this position Sasuke could kill him in an instant if the raven so chose. Sai trembled and forced himself not to move, not to react, so that he could sit still and…trust. He understood little of human feeling, but Sai knew that Sasuke was offering him something in this, this intense and almost threatening gesture. He was waiting, watching to see if the artist had the courage to accept the offering. Sasuke watched the struggle and Sai knew, inexplicably, that he understood his thoughts.

The ethereally lovely, porcelain pale ninja did not murder him, but bent and drew his tongue roughly against the corner of Sai's mouth. Sai gasped, the fresh, wintery scent of Sasuke's flesh almost banishing logical thought from his mind entirely. The raven moved closer, cupping Sai's jaw aggressively, his fingers almost bruising, as he drove his tongue deeply into Sai's mouth. The artist gasped, the feel of Sasuke's powerful tongue moving against his own almost enough to overwhelm him completely. The raven's kiss was nothing like Naruto's had been. The jinchuuriki's lips and tongue had been gentle, warm and careful, while Sasuke was rough, unyielding and possessive. Sasuke probed him once and then again before pulling away, his dark eyes hot and a little feral.

"Sasuke…" Naruto whispered, shocked to see his subordinate behave so forwardly.

"He missed some." Sasuke replied, turning away.

. The artist did not miss the way that Sasuke's hands clenched and unclenched as he pushed them into his sleeves and leaned against Naruto's back once again. Sai cocked his head and wondered

OoOoOoO

"Whatever you're doing isn't working." Hiashi said coldly as Suki moved out of the shadows to crouch beside him.

"Forgive me my lord, but poisoning the Inuzuka is proving far more difficult than we originally thought." She replied, quietly.

"Obviously."

"Poison may never be an appropriate method for his…er…removal." Suki whispered.

"Perhaps you should try a different toxin." Hiashi suggested impatiently.

"It is not the poison that is the problem. I believe we may be unable to sicken Inuzuka Kiba regardless of which compound we use. At least, that is, if the death must be made to look natural."

"How so?" Hiashi asked, crossing his arms.

"He is too much like the dogs his clan worships. Any kind of poison in his food and he immediately vomits up the meal, nullifying whatever effect the substance might have. Worse, he has learned to smell the toxin in almost anything and has taken to sorting through all of the food brought to the compound." Suki explained.

"Damn him! By Kami, how could he have realized what was happening?" Hiashi asked.

"I'm not sure that he has. After the servant girl died, Kiba decided that the food must be infected with some kind of taint and has been systematically checking food deliveries for the entire household. He has become increasingly popular with the members of the branch house for his efforts." Suki reported, her head bowed apologetically.

"This is not acceptable."

"My apologies, my Lord." Suki whispered, bowing low.

"What about poisoning an article of clothing?"

"He can smell that too and I believe attempting to poison him in that manner again will only fully arouse his suspicion. The first time we poisoned his pillow, Kiba complained of the odor all the way down the hall and refused to allow Hinata to even set foot into their bedroom for almost a week. " Suki whispered.

"The Inuzuka matriarch comes to visit him and formalize the match in two days time. If he notifies her of his suspicions, the bloody dogs would have grounds for war! Not only have you failed to even sicken the mutt, but you have managed, also, to cast serious suspicion of foul play upon our house!" Hiashi snapped.

"I know, my lord."

"Well? What do you propose we do?" Hiashi hissed.

"At this time…it may be best to do nothing." The kunoichi suggested softly.

"That is not a satisfactory answer, Suki. If that fucking mongrel impregnates my daughter, I'll have both a worthless son-in-law and a weak blooded grandchild to contend with. I won't allow half-breed scum to rule my house!" Hiashi snarled.

"I have already begun sneaking contraceptives into Hinata's tea."

"While that may be fine for now, that is certainly not a solution to our problem."

"Actually…it may very well be." Suki offered.

"Explain."

"If, in a year's time, Kiba has not sired any children, then you can claim that he is infertile. Even the Hokage would not fault you for trying to protect the potency of the Hyuuga bloodline. Without an heir, any house will fall. Infertility is one of the few legitimate reasons to terminate a union through marriage between two houses." The assassin explained.

"What you suggest may be an appropriate option, if a risky one. Kiba has been tiresome after barely a month and I hate to think that I might suffer him for an entire year, but if poison is ineffective, perhaps it is the only way." Hiashi sighed.

"I have tried every poison my lord."

"And if you are wrong and the dog already believes that he has been targeted, what then?" Hiashi asked.

"I request permission to poison Toki Hyuuga."

"What! How can that possibly serve our purposes!" Hiashi snarled.

"The child has always been sickly and his death will assure that Kiba believes the odor he detects is nothing more than spoiled food." The Kunoichi said, her voice steady and casual.

"But Toki? The boy is barely four years old and he isn't a worthless servant, but a Hyuuga!" Hiashi growled his voice low and dangerous.

"The child is weak anyway. He certainly won't survive training to become a ninja and the best you can hope for him is that he might be intelligent enough to attend the academy as a scholar." Suki said, shrugging.

"Such a thing is too cold, regardless of its purpose."

"War with Inuzuka will cost far more lives, especially if they are joined by Uzumaki…" Suki noted.

"You honestly think the Oni would join the Dogs against us? Even now my nephew warms his bed! If anything he would be compelled to come to our aid! You disappoint me badly tonight, Suki." Hiashi snapped. The woman finally flinched at the insult.

"I think that our assault on Uzumaki might also bring the Dog Lords down upon us as well. Our enemies must remain isolated and off balance if we are to succeed!" Suki urged.

"So I should allow my enemy to live and continue fucking my daughter every night in favor of murdering one of my own kinsmen!" Hiashi hissed.

"Yes. By murdering an inconsequential child who may never live to adulthood anyway, you place control back into your own hands! How can Kiba be suspicious of you if a Hyuuga is struck down as well?" Suki whispered, her soft voice sharp with urgency.

"Suki…There is no other way in your estimation?"

"No other way to be sure. The question is to what lengths are you prepared to go in order to preserve Hyuuga superiority in Konoha?" Suki asked, raising her eyes and surveying Hiashi steadily.

Hiashi gazed at her for a moment before turning away to look out across the darkened room to where the Hyuuga standard hung high on the wall, well lit by oil lamps. The symbol had been cast of heavy bronze and finished with twining golden filigree to represent the somatic energy techniques wielded by the Hyuuga clan. The standard had been made almost three centuries ago, but had not darkened with age like so many other relics passed down from the age of Fire. Inuzuka had nothing like this, proof that their clan had fought beside the very gods for the honor to rule the world, and the damn upstart Oni likely wouldn't even know what the symbol meant. Many ancestors had died to establish the clan and many more to maintain its power. Hiashi sighed.

"Take Toki's life, but know this my Suki…" Hiashi said, his voice cold even in his own ears.

"My Lord?"

"If we fail, you shall join the child in his death and your ending will not be so swift." Hiashi whispered coldly, and his voice carried the weight of an oath.

"I expect nothing less if I should fail you, my Lord." She replied before melting again into the darkness.

OoOoOoO

Sakura sighed and let herself relax against Naruto's chest as Sasuke gently unwound the bindings from her breasts. So much time had passed since they had been able to be together this way, to share this kind of communication. She sighed, enjoying the raw strength in Naruto's arms as he lifted her easily into his lap. She was tired of the terror and the fighting and the constant worry that someone was going to end up hurt and broken as her family tried to regain its balance. Adding Sai to the pack had been natural, even if Sasuke was furious, and the artist fell into step with life as an Uzumaki almost as if he had been there the entire time. True, Sai was awkward and often mysterious, but even Sasuke had slowly become accustomed to his presence. Neji, however…Sakura felt her belly tense at the thought.

"You're thinking too much." Naruto whispered from behind her, his voice husky and rough with desire.

"Sorry…" She whispered, turning deftly to plant a kiss against his jaw.

For a brief, mad instant Sakura felt guilty for making love with her husbands without the artist. Sai had gone out to buy some art supplies for the new studio he was creating in one of the many empty rooms of the Uchiha estate and she had leapt at the chance for a bit of intimacy in his absence. The situation felt strange and a little empty, being without him after the last few days, but it was welcome too. Sai was always so starved for any kind of affection, relishing every kiss, but she knew as well as any of them that he wasn't ready for the claiming. Any moment of hesitant affection had become sharp with worry as Sakura tried to ease the artist into the strange relationship they shared and today she simply needed release. Perhaps even more importantly, Sasuke had become increasingly paranoid with Neji in the house and Sakura did not think that he would be able to both accept Sai into their bed and resist the temptation to murder Neji simultaneously. Their lives had become so terribly complex and at least some of it was her fault. Sakura did not regret her decision to bring Sai into their lives, not even a little, but the truth was that everything might have been simpler without him. She sighed and tried to relax. Naruto nipped her lightly on the ear lobe and the sensation tingled maddeningly in the wake of his lips. Sasuke released her breasts and Sakura winced a little as the swollen flesh bounced.

"Do they hurt?" Sasuke asked, his warm obsidian eyes curiously studying her body.

"Yeah, a little. It isn't too bad, really…I just hate looking so chubby." Sakura replied with a laugh, tracing the elegant angle of his jaw.

"You're beautiful though, even more than usual. I like how your breasts are now and your belly too, it's…voluptuous." Sasuke purred, moving to kiss the tender flesh.

"Hmmm, it's true. Your breasts have gotten so big." Naruto rumbled, running his large hands over her bosom.

As one the men moved against her and Sakura felt her body warm to their touch, little thrills of carnal pleasure ricocheting through her hungry flesh. She wanted to keep her eyes open, to watch them, to see every expression, but heady waves of pleasure threatened to crumble her self-control. Sasuke nibbled at her throat, his teeth clever and sharp against the skin above her collar bone, but wholly unthreatening. She closed her eyes with a hungry sigh. Naruto's fingers slid languidly down her body until they reached the ever growing swell over her womb. He lingered there and Sasuke joined him, lacing their fingers together and sharing the contented quiet for a moment. Even with her eyes shut, Sakura could almost see them staring, as if seeing all the way in to where their child slept. Sasuke could have used the sharingan if he wanted, but for a moment Sakura was sure that he didn't even need the technique to know exactly what lay within her. Naruto sighed, resting his cheek against her shoulder. Softly, Sakura laid her fingers over those of her mates and smiled.

"Will it hurt her?" Naruto asked timidly.

"No. Tsunade says that sex is good, especially now, otherwise I will be very tight and the muscles will be weak. If my body is too stiff when she is born, the labor will be difficult and that would be bad." Sakura whispered.

"Stupid, you still have almost five months until she comes." Sasuke said softly, his tone completely at odds with his words. Sakura smiled.

"Oh…so I shouldn't trouble you then? I'm sure you're very busy…" Sakura said, letting heat flow into her voice even as she teased him.

"I never said that I didn't want to." Sasuke whispered, a slow smile spreading like melting honey across his face.

"Good…If someone doesn't fuck me today I am seriously going to die…" Naruto groaned, rocking against Sakura's hips suggestively.

"You have a very dirty mouth, dobe." Sasuke hissed.

Naruto laughed, low and sultry, and moved to wind his fingers into Sasuke's dark hair, tugging gently to bring the other man closer. As always there was a moment of tension between them, a challenge sounded and met before Sasuke melted into Naruto's touch. The raven nuzzled his alpha's palm, his entire manner seductive and Sakura could barely breathe as she watched. Naruto kissed him over her shoulder, plunging the powerful muscle of his tongue into the raven's submissive mouth as he ground the fevered length of his arousal against Sakura. A fierce surge of heat flooded her flesh and left the girl gasping in its wake.

"Is it cleaner now, Teme? Clean enough to fuck you with?" Naruto asked hotly, his blue eyes almost molten in the gentle bedroom light.

"You're disgusting. Pervert." Sasuke said, making no move to pull away.

"Too bad you like it, baka." Naruto accused, laughing low in his throat.

The rumbling sound of Naruto's sultry mirth crawled up her spine, shedding little sparks of searing arousal all throughout Sakura's body and she was suddenly very tired of all the talk. The girl sighed, arching against Naruto's hard musculature at her back as she undulated and pressed her breasts against Sasuke's chest. Naruto and Sasuke moaned in unison, their hands sliding over her skin like white hot brands. She was caught between them, straddling Naruto's muscular thighs with Sasuke's graceful hips snug between her knees. They rocked her, surging beneath her in a primal dance, breath harsh and gasping as each tried to find leverage, struggling for rhythm. The girl used the new position to suck one of Sasuke's sensitive nipples between her lips, lapping at the captured flesh until it stiffened against her tongue. Sasuke made a sharp, almost desperate noise at the contact which sent a shiver through her skin and made Naruto purr. She held the delicate peak between her teeth, pressing enough to thrill him and no more. Sasuke whimpered, leaning into her mouth, his pale body flushed and wanting and more beautiful than a single human being had any right to be.

Finally, Sasuke moved to kneel low on the bed, pressing his lips to her belly. The kiss was chaste at first, just the soft press of lips to skin and nothing more. He trembled against her, his breath warm and fast and when his tongue touched her skin the sensation was electric. Sakura moaned, squeezing her eyes tight as Naruto wound his powerful fingers into her hair, firmly pulling her head to the side to kiss her throat. Sakura sighed, tipping her chin as the jinchuuriki gently closed his sharp teeth around her pulse point, mouthing her neck softly. Sasuke trailed kisses up from her navel to the center of her chest, his eyes hot and predatory as he gazed upon her body. The raven haired ninja moved closer, lathing his tongue over her sensitive nipples. He ran the slick muscle over the underside of her breast, enjoying the round weight of it against his mouth, as Naruto reached around her waist to stroke the growing roundness of her belly. The jinchuuriki cupped her heavy breasts so that Sasuke could better fold his hot lips over the sensitive peaks. Sakura moaned, the feeling of his mouth on her breasts making her blood run like fire in her veins.

The raven took his time, running his fingers over the areolas, holding the rosy flesh delicately in his fingers as he kissed each nipple. He tugged pressing gently and Sakura nearly screamed. Naruto gasped against her as Sasuke gently sucked the tender flesh between his lips, working his mouth roughly over the flushed peaks. The touch sent spearing arches of heat through her body until Sakura was on the edge from the nipple play alone, so aroused that she practically ached. Sakura cried out at the sensation, Naruto's powerful hands firm on her shoulder and waist, arching her own hips hard to meet Sasuke's hips. The raven moaned, his face flushed and eager, as he reached lower to run roughened fingers over the fiery folds of her vulva. Sakura cried out, arching her body, one hand tight on Naruto's wrist and the other on Sasuke's shoulder. The bruises faded almost as quickly as she made them, but something primal in Sakura was still aroused to see her marks on their bodies.

Naruto snarled softly into her hair, holding her left nipple between his thumb and fingers as he continued to ravish her neck. Sasuke worked his fingers against her most intimate skin, spreading the moisture her found there and sending hard surges of heat through her groin. He pressed in, delicately at first, but her body was moist, flexible with lust, and accepted the penetration easily. Naruto followed him, skimming his claws teasingly over her waist and lower to where the raven stroked her clitoris with his thumb and filled her with his fingers. They pumped her, a deep maddening rhythm both torturous and ecstatic. The jinchuuriki rubbed the delicate folds, the friction making Sakura writhe against Sasuke's clever hand until a fine mist of sweat coated her skin and orgasm tightened her body. She screamed, her body drawn taught with the thundering pleasure of it, held still only by the sheer vastness of Naruto's strength. Sasuke withdrew his fingers and Sakura fought not to whimper at the loss as she watched him lick the slickened digits.

"Oh…Kami…" Sakura breathed, staring, her body still singing with heat.

"She tastes different." Naruto whispered, running his thumb possessively over Sasuke's lower lip to steal some of the moisture there.

"Yes." Sasuke replied, his long pink tongue darting out to lick teasingly at Naruto's hand.

The jinchuuriki lapped his fingers as well, practically purring with arousal and satisfaction. Sakura watched, but observing wasn't good enough so she turned in Naruto's arms, moving her breasts against his chest. The kunoichi kissed him deeply, tasting the strange, tangy, musk of her own body on his lips and moaned at the sensation. Naruto made a strangled noise and then he was pulling her down with him, returning the kiss with savage ardor born of stress and worry and many days of waiting. Sasuke was kissing her lower back, his dexterous lips and sharp teeth maddening as he explored the curvature of her buttocks. The girl ground against them, pressing back against Sasuke and forward into Naruto's eager arms, as she felt another climax draw near. Behind her, the raven gripped Sakura's hips and positioned his body to penetrate her. There was the strain of muscular limbs, a sharp intake of breath and Sasuke was inside her, his entry a single fluid stroke. The girl came again as her trembling muscles clenched around the raven's hard arousal, coaxing a desperate noise form the man at her back and a low growl from the one clasped in her arms. Sasuke grunted and pressed his fingers hard against her hips as he fought for control, fought to make it last.

Sakura reached behind to clasp his hand, her touch both commanding and reassuring at once, and rocked softly against his hips as her body stretched and took the raven in fully. Sakura moaned into Naruto's fevered mouth, nipping his lips aggressively and gyrating her hips to deepen the penetration as Sasuke moaned softly and began to move. The raven haired ninja practically shrieked and set his teeth against the flesh of her shoulder to halt the noise as Sakura clenched her strong internal muscles around him. Naruto surged beneath her, grinding against her slickened arousal even as Sasuke pumped her, finding his rhythm and moving deep. There was a tangled moment of hands and teeth and an awkward shifting of hips as Naruto moved forward and Sasuke back and then…they were both inside her. Sakura yelped with surprise and pain, stilling her body and suddenly everything was silent

"Shit!" Sasuke hissed, moving to pull back. Sakura's pained cry stopped him.

"Oh, Kami…we…are we…?" Naruto fumbled.

Sasuke was panting hard, the muscles of his thighs jumping against the skin of her own and Naruto had frozen as if afraid to move. They were in her, both of them, together. Sakura took a trembling breath, her knees shaking. Nothing like this had ever happened before, not in all the years of making love and Sakura had never even imagined that something so…drastic…was even possible. Her body trembled with the unexpected penetration, the ache deep and visceral in her core, but she had both of them. Even the thought was erotic enough to make her moan and the pain was already beginning to fade. Experimentally, because the sensation was still good even though it felt tight and a little raw, Sakura moved against them. Naruto cried out, throwing his head back against the pillows as she engulfed them fully and began to move.

"Wait…Wait…" The jinchuuriki panted, clearly trying to regain control.

"Why?" She whispered.

"What if it hurts you?" Sasuke asked, sounding both aroused and faintly terrified.

"Doesn't…doesn't hurt much." She hissed, moving against them again.

"Sakura…" Naruto warned, but the girl stubbornly ignored him.

Her flesh was tight and the angle was awkward, but there was something so unbelievably good about being filled completely with her lovers. Sakura wondered if this was how Sasuke felt when Naruto loved him. Naruto groaned beneath her, still stubbornly trying to remain still as Sasuke gasped, moving into her again with a frightened, jerky little thrust that was more reflex than anything else. They fumbled, Sakura trying raising herself up onto her hands and Naruto digging his fingers hard into Sasuke's hip in a vain attempt to gain some kind of leverage. She winced as they moved, her body filled to its limit and tender.

Breathing deeply, Sakura braced her hands on either side of Naruto's head and pressed up, achieving an angle with which she could move against them and forcing Sasuke slightly onto his knees. The girl took a few deep breaths, letting her body adjust and enjoying the feel of both hardened erections trembling inside her. Naruto was looking as if he might object and Sasuke was nearly pulling away when Sakura thrust hard against them. She took them, both of them, all the way, moaning as her body stretched even further. Her skin tingled both from the stimulation and also the strain, but it was still pleasurable. Sasuke snarled, holding her hips and trying to keep his balance as Sakura pumped them, finding a rhythm despite the strangeness.

There was stretch and pain and then mind shattering ecstasy. Sakura moved, deep and powerfully, carrying both her own weight and Sasuke's as she moved against Naruto's firm hips. After a moment, her men found a tempo and began to thrust synchronously until the movement was smooth and unforced. She rode them, her body growing warm as every last inch of her intimate flesh caressed the firm ridges of her husbands' bodies. The deep, penetrating heat spread, the pressure building as her body slowly began to respond. The kunoichi felt her muscles tighten and she came again, the slick heat of her release only further lubricating the movement inside of her. There was no more pain, or worry, or politics or even sanity. There was only the hardened rise of Naruto's chest and the searing heat of Sasuke's breath and the muscular thrusting of both of them together. Gently, Naruto shifted to the side and began to change his angle, penetrating more deeply and forcing a heated scream from Sakura's lips.

The position was better as Sakura no longer had to hold herself up through sheer upper body strength to keep the weight off of her occupied womb and both men were afforded greater opportunity to thrust more deeply. The girl grit her teeth and came against them again, shuddering even as Sasuke moaned. They moved together, harmonious and entranced, as each sweat slickened thrust wrung a desperate cry from each of them. Sakura let herself be rocked, accepting the perfectly unified strokes as Sasuke and Naruto loved her as one, stimulating each other even as they moved inside her. Hot, molten arousal filled her abdomen and lower and the girl could feel Sasuke tensing at her back. The hot rush of Sasuke's seed flooded her body and she came even as Naruto gathered himself and came hard within her as well.

They lay, panting and satisfied, tangled in one another's limbs. Finally, Naruto gently moved from her body, kissing her throat softly to ease the ache as Sakura winced slightly. Her body was so flooded with endorphins that the pain was distant and unimportant, but she knew that she would be tender later. Sasuke threw a hand over his face, breathing hard.

"How…how was that even possible?" He panted, voice breathy and faintly awed.

"I'm pregnant…that must be why. My body is producing relaxin." Sakura said, laughing breathlessly.

"Relaxin?" Naruto asked dubiously.

"Yeah, it's a pregnancy hormone. It makes all my tissue…you know…flexible." Sakura said, as Sasuke pulled out of her and turned to look incredulously into her eyes.

"That sounds…uncomfortable." Sasuke said, flushed and still looking worried.

"Felt really good, actually." Sakura sighed.

"You aren't hurt? The baby…?" Naruto asked, suddenly worried.

"She's fine. We're both fine. I don't even feel like puking for once!" Sakura said, giggling.

Naruto laughed a little as well, nuzzling close against her hair, his chest shaking as he laughed. The sound was so bright and wonderful that it made her laugh as well and soon both of them were giggling hard enough to bring tears to their eyes. After a moment, Sasuke was laughing too, holding her shoulder as he brushed covertly at the tears streaming from his eyes. They laughed, letting all the stress of the past few days roll away under the hot tide of sex and laughter and sheer closeness. After a while, Sasuke managed to regain his composure.

"I think the pregnancy suites you, now that it isn't trying to kill you." The raven said at last.

OoOoOoO

Sai examined the fine squirrel fur brushes lined up according to size against the shop's far wall. He wanted to paint again, perhaps sumi this time, and needed a very high quality brush with enough absorptive capacity to make long, firm strokes. The brushes were expensive, very expensive, but Sasuke had explicitly told him to get whatever he wanted as long as he picked up chocolate ice cream and mushrooms while he was out. The thought of Sasuke's pretty porcelain face, scowling haughtily in that way he had when he was trying not to smile, as he shoved the money into Sai hand made the artist's chest warm and full. The artist had worn the borrowed orange and black livery to go out, even though the garment fit poorly. He had merely belted the kimono a bit more tightly than it had necessarily been designed for and let the cuffs slip down to the second knuckle of his fingers. The Nara clan wore their kimono sleeves long on purpose and Sai did not feel as though anyone would really notice or care if Sasuke's kimono was just a little too big. Besides, the bright black and orange made him feel so…confident.

Perhaps squirrel fur might be a bit too soft for such precise work. Sai bit his lip, mentally comparing the brushes to the consistency of the ink he had purchased earlier that afternoon. He moved to another display, examining some of the fine horse hair brushes that the shop offered for calligraphers, wondering if a brush made for writing might be a better fit for the piece. He had already bought several scrolls of fine, heavy paper and another set of charcoal pencils wrapped carefully in race paper so that they wouldn't smudge quite so readily. The studio would be bigger than his entire apartment had been before and Sai enjoyed the idea of a space truly of his own other than the small bedroom he had currently been occupying. True, he slept there, but the room was just a place to lie down and not anything that felt like his own. Naruto had sensed that, that Sai still felt a bit like a stranger, and suggested that he put together an art studio. Sai smiled remembering the way Naruto's eyes had sparkled with excitement at the suggestion.

Shino entered the shop as Sai continued to puzzle over the brushes and stopped dead as if he had been struck by some kind of paralyzing jutsu. Sai smiled and waved to him, wondering if maybe he was feeling ill. Shino's face was impassive as ever, but the insects ever present in his clothing buzzed in agitation as the ninja stared at him like he had grown another head. The bug loving ninja gathered himself and strode towards Sai as if marching into battle, his shoulders hunched forward and insects buzzing loudly.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Shino asked bluntly.

"It's Sasuke's. He wanted me to wear it when the Hyuuga's came a few days ago and never asked for it back." Sai explained.

"Why are you wearing Sasuke's clothing?"

"He said I could and it smells nice." Sai replied.

"Yes, but I ask because wearing other people's clothing is unusual and also because you happen to be wearing Sasuke-fucking-Uchiha's Uzumaki livery." Shino huffed, his voice frustrated.

"It's my livery too." Sai said, a bit defensively. Shino's eyes widened at that.

"You…you married Naruto?" Shino asked, startled.

"I think so." Sai replied, examining another paint brush.

"How can you not know whether or not you have married someone?" Shino snapped, crossing his arms angrily.

"Everything happened rather quickly." Sai said, unperturbed.

"I have been trying to find you. I just came back from my mission this morning and went to visit you, but the nurses at the hospital said that you had leveled the entire wing and then left." Shino explained impatiently.

"Sakura was sick." Sai replied. Shino huffed angrily.

"You do realize that that explains absolutely nothing."

"I am not crazy after all." Sai said, smiling in what he hoped was a reassuring manner.

"Right." Shino replied, rolling his eyes sarcastically.

"Don't worry. I am feeling much better." Sai said, smiling again.

"But…Naruto just took you? Just like that? Are you under the thrall?" Shino asked, mouth hanging open in amazement.

"Well no, Sasuke was really angry at first and there was the explosion too…"

"Explosion?"

"Yes. I still need to apologize to the hospital for that and I think Sasuke is still angry, but not at me anymore. I don't think that I'm under the thrall yet, though Naruto does this thing with his tongue when he kisses me that does make me feel rather suggestible…" Sai said, spreading the brush bristles with his fingers.

"He kisses you?" Shino said, sounding dubious.

"Yes. Sasuke kissed me once too, but that kiss wasn't the same, it was sort of fierce, I guess. Still nice though. I thought all kissing was the same, but apparently it depends on the person. Isn't that odd?" Sai said, finally deciding on the horse hair brushes.

"Yes, definitely odd." Shino groused.

"Have you ever been kissed?" Sai asked.

"Sai, I do not want to talk about kissing. I want to know why you blew up the entire fucking hospital and then managed to be taken as one of Naruto's subordinates. I want to know because I am not sure you will be able to adapt to such a situation easily." Shino said, crossing his arms.

"I do find the situation challenging, but also enjoyable. I want to stay…"

"Stay?" Shino asked, looking worried.

"Yes. I am living with Naruto and Sasuke and Sakura…and Neji too now, I guess, though he hasn't left his room very much. Sakura says that he is trying to adjust and Sasuke says that he is plotting to kill us, but Naruto just says to leave him alone and so I haven't really talked to him too much." Sai continued, shrugging.

"Wait, what? Neji?"

"Yes, he was married to Naruto two days ago."

"Naruto took two more subordinates? By Kami…" Shino said, looking a little pale.

"I talked to Sakura in the hospital and I told her what you said, about me being in love. She let me come home with them and Sasuke let me stay. Naruto just does what the other two tell him most of the time." Sai noted.

"Sakura Uzumaki dug you out of the psych ward and took you home like some kind of lost pet?" Shino asked, sounding angry.

"She said I was in love. I guess she agreed with you. " Sai said, smiling a little.

"Did you also mention the part where I said that you were insane?" Shino sniped.

"Yes, but she says that you were wrong about that."

"I do not think that feeding this obsession of yours is healthy! I say so because you have no idea about how to interact with people in the first place and Jinchuuriki packs are dangerous. I do not think you have any idea how intense this relationship with them is going to be." Shino whispered urgently.

"I'm not obsessed. I'm in love."

"Those two things are not mutually exclusive, Sai…"

"Sakura wants me. She knows, she's a doctor." Sai argued.

"She's a surgeon and she doesn't know anything about people getting obsessed!" Shino snapped.

"I don't care. I want to stay with her, with all of them. I'm not leaving." Sai replied harshly, his voice more firm than he had intended. Shino's brows rose over his dark glasses.

"Sai, the thrall kills people. It's not easy, even for people who know what the hell is happening!" Shino hissed.

"I want it anyway." Sai said stubbornly.

"Sai…"

"Until now, my life…has been very simple. I do not want simplicity anymore." Sai said, meeting his friends eyes.

"I don't want you to be hurt." Shino said after a moment, still sounding grouchy.

"I prefer feeling pain to feeling nothing." Sai replied and it was true.

OoOoOoO

Neji watched Naruto and the others through the walls, using the Byukugan to see the fiery webs of their energy. He observed Naruto, Sasuke, Sai and Sakura moving through the vast house as easily as he would have seen them face to face. He had not been free to move about the compound as he wished, which was to be expected, but Neji had already learned a great deal about the Uzumaki household simply by employing his ability to watch their energy. No one had been unkind, though Sasuke had yet to speak to him, but Sakura said that the tension between the two families was simply too great for him to be allowed free access to the compound yet. Neji did not want free access, he did not want anything that would help him to be a better spy, that might put him into a position to betray his friends. Anko's words had worried him. Neji had been told that the marriage was a peace offering, a precaution against the Kyuubi, but Anko's trepidations had made so much sense. The way she looked at him, she had seemed so sure... Neji shook his head. Even his sensei make mistakes and she was badly jaded by her own experiences. Hiashi did not want Naruto dead, the Hyuuga leader just wanted assurances that Konoha would be safe, the kind only political marriage could give him. Neji was not here to hurt anyone, merely to watch and that was all. Watching was harmless, watching was something he would have done anyway, but doing so still felt wrong.

Neji was already fairly certain that Hiashi's concerns were groundless and that Naruto had no intention of allowing Kyuubi to rampage through Konoha. The Jinchuuriki was obviously completely focused on protecting the tiny flicker of light growing in Sakura's womb and, other than loving his subordinates, the blond was oblivious to almost everything else. Neji had been so surprised to see it, he had looked twice, but the glow was definitely there. She was pregnant and not only that, but the child's energy was incredibly well developed considering that it was still no bigger than an apple, structured enough that Neji was almost positive that the fetus was female. Suddenly, looking at the tiny flicker of purple light couched within Sakura's green chakra, everything had made far too much sense and Neji felt as if ice water had been splashed down his spine. With the birth of their first child, especially one so powerful, the Uzumaki clan would rise to the forefront of Konoha leadership. An heiress would not only confirm clan Uzumaki's continuing existence, but also present the possibility of alliance with the rising Oni clan to both foreign powers and other Konoha nobles. Though he surely did not know it, with the birth of his daughter, Naruto placed control of the Konoha nobility firmly into the palm of his hand. No one knew if the Uzumaki clan passed leadership through their sons or their daughters, no one knew if they married siblings to preserve the bloodline, no one knew what kind of power would arise from a melding of the Sharingan with Kyuubi's energy. The child was an unknown variable, but not one that anyone would make the mistake of underestimating and when she was born Naruto would be able to maneuver around the other houses with ease.

Neji knew that it was possible Hiashi knew nothing of the child and the implications the little life brought, but his belly still clenched into knots at the thought. The Hyuuga clan ruled Konoha and had since the fall of the Uchihas, growing more powerful and filling the gap left by Sasuke's family. Neji knew that Hiashi would never willingly give up that position, especially not to a resurrection of house Uchiha led by a half-foreign Jinchuuriki. Still, he had only been told to watch and watching could not hurt anyone. Neji had no strategic facts, nothing that could be used against Naruto, especially since he could only see the silent energy and had to guess at what was being said. He was not doing anything wrong, nothing like what Anko had done, but chilly doubt had kept him sleepless anyway. The Hyuuga bit his lip and tried not to panic about cloaks and daggers and what role in the great intrigue he might have been set to play. There weren't any other options, no other paths to follow and so he would do what he had to and nothing more.

Sakura had come to visit him almost every day, bringing lunch or books or fresh clothing, but only a few days had passed and Neji was already restless. The hours always stretched too long before she arrived and the time she spent with him seemed to last less than a heartbeat. The girl was unafraid of his silence, filling it with news, opinions and observations so astute that Neji wondered often if she had somehow learned to read minds. Before, when they had been students together, Neji had barely spared Sakura Haruno a glance. She had been a rather plain, relatively weak nin who cried over everything and was only dangerous because her teammates had a habit of killing anything that upset her. He had never realized the depth of emotion that Sakura possessed or appreciated how difficult it must have been for her, the child of artisans, to learn the ninja art. Neji came from a ninja clan and had learned the basic techniques of chakra manipulation even before he could walk, Sakura's first exposure to the discipline had come with her acceptance to the academy. She told him this, as he sat and sipped tea and said nothing, saying how much she had always admired him, how everyone had. Things that Neji had always taken for granted were valuable to Sakura and she somehow made him feel exceptional in a way that had nothing to do with fawning or jealousy.

The rose haired kunoichi was nothing at all like Anko and perhaps that was why Neji had come to be so utterly obsessed with her. Once he would have scoffed at the idea of Sakura Haruno being in any way interesting, not like Anko, whose every smile, every look, every gesture was filled to the brim with hidden meaning, expectation and contradiction. Sakura hid nothing, but she was far more complicated than he had ever imagined simply because she managed so many different feelings all at the same time. He understood now how she could love multiple men the way she did, there were so many different facets to her personality and the only person who had even a chance of knowing them all was Naruto. Neji drank in the conversation like clean water, listening to how she loved each of them and none less than the others. She loved Sasuke for his pride and his honor and his grace. She wore the once-Uchiha's love like the finest of jewels, deeply cherished by a common girl who had never even seen anything nearly so fine in all her life. Sakura loved Naruto for his honesty and kindness and power, he was both her rock and her river, everything in the world that Sakura could count as beloved and familiar. The jinchuuriki was no less than the sun in her sky, even if Sasuke was the moon and Neji was thoroughly convinced that she would be unable to even contemplate survival without him. The girl's love for Sai was softer, more subtle and newer, but no less intense. Whether she knew it or not, Sakura had always loved him, even if the feeling had been only an undercurrent to the other passions in her life. Sai was the man who made Sakura feel powerful, who made her confident and she loved him for his aestheticism and vulnerability and sheer innocence. Sai was the stars in her sky, ever present and essential as air, but subtle…quiet. Neji found himself quietly amazed at the breadth of her affections, none of them shallow or foolish as he had once believed.

She was soft where Anko was hard, bright where Anko was dark and not mysterious in the slightest, but fascinating nonetheless. Neji had come to look forward to her visits with a kind of fragile desperation that he refused to acknowledge other than to silently concede that he might be suffering from Stockholm syndrome. He often fantasized about walking with Sakura in the garden or reading with her in the library as he watched the others do, but Neji was relieved for his imprisonment. Here, locked firmly in a room, he could not learn things that Hiashi could use against them. Isolation was, at least, safe and Neji had carefully declined any of Sakura's implied invitations to join the others.

He intentionally manipulated her into believing that he preferred solitude. Neji already saw more and learned more than he wanted to and not all of it was as meaningless as he wanted to pretend. Even locked in the small, if beautiful room, Neji could see when they argued or embraced or made love…His cheeks heated at that and Neji was glad that the act had only happened once. He should never have watched them that way, doing so had been unnecessary to his mission, but Neji had not been able to tear his eyes away from the surging chakra of the three forms wound up in each other. Apparently, Sakura made love to both of them at once and, while he was shocked, Neji was also mildly titillated by the thought.

Even though the Byukugan offered him only the bare chakra outline of the other's bodies, the Hyuuga could see them in his mind, how they would look and sound. He imagined Sasuke, his pale skin warmed with blood, trying to remain detached and failing as Sakura coaxed him to orgasm and how Naruto would moan and sigh and come undone for both of them. The vision shook him, made his breath come fast, and for the first time since leaving Anko, Neji was too aroused to find his center. The Hyuuga lay awake at night, straining to hear as the others spoke and laughed and loved each other, feeling empty and yet grateful that he had not been called upon to join them. He was only doing as he had been ordered, completing his mission to the best of his abilities, but Neji could not hide from the gnawing worry that only something terrible could come from doing so. True, very little of what he knew had any real significance, but the act of spying itself still felt wrong.

Tonight they were cooking together, as far as he could tell, standing close in the kitchen and occasionally touching affectionately. Sasuke, the Hyuuga was sure that it was him, hovered close to Sakura as they cooked. The raven was always close to her, his energy protective and vigilant. Sai brushed his hand against Sasuke's arm and Neji waited for the psychotic killer to tear the artist's hand off, but the raven's swirling blue energy suffered the touch as always. The phenomenon never failed to shock Neji, that Sasuke allowed the ink nin to touch him so frequently, and he wondered how they had ever come to tolerate each other. Naruto shared a brief kiss with Sai and Neji watched his energy flare with what could only be assumed was arousal. So, Naruto was not only allowing Sai to stay with them out of friendship, he had come to want the artist sexually. Neji filed away the tiny piece of information away, hoping as usual that it would never be anything that might interest Hiashi.

The four of them worked for a while, cutting vegetables probably, and then Sasuke and Naruto began to argue. Neji rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to look away. The two of them fought almost as much as they talked and seemed to communicate better shouting than they ever did with any kind of mature interaction. He yawned. It was nothing unusual. Neji took no note of the behavior until Naruto's energy flared and synchronized with Sasuke's. The bands of chakra aligned so perfectly that at first Neji was not sure who was who, the lines of energy pulsing in time with one another like a single heartbeat. He gasped. Naruto had exerted the thrall, it was the only thing that could account for something so utterly unbelievable. Neji had never seen anything like it and watching the chakra of a person straighten and match another sent a shiver up his spine. Sasuke turned and began moving towards him, his pace both swift and efficient. Neji shut his eyes and halted the Byukugan just as he heard Sasuke's swift, angry tread in the hallway near his room.

Neji had a breath and a heartbeat before Sasuke tore the locking jutsu from the door and stormed in. The raven slammed the door open with an audible crack, looking positively deadly in his black and orange kimono, eyes blazing like living coals in his pale face. Even without spying on him earlier, Neji could tell that Sasuke was furious. The killer scowled at Neji as he moved to lean against the door frame, mouth set in a fierce, angry line.

"Naruto wants you to join us for dinner." Sasuke practically spat.

"Oh?" Neji replied, raising an eyebrow.

"The idiot thinks that you need company." Sasuke fumed, the sharingan blazing scarlet in his anger.

"What do you want?" Neji asked quizzically, sipping the cold tea Sakura had left earlier.

"I want to gouge your eyes out and chain you to something heavy in the room beneath the root cellar that Naruto still doesn't know about." Sasuke replied without hesitation.

"I mean your family no harm, Sasuke." Neji said, keeping his voice calm.

"Lie to me again Hyuuga and even the thrall won't help you." Sasuke hissed, his face twisting with rage.

"Does your sharingan give you any reason to think I'm lying." Neji whispered, watching as Sasuke studied him.

"No. But your kinsmen in my woods certainly do." The raven replied coldly.

"My kinsmen?" Neji asked, suddenly off balance. Sasuke cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh. I see." The raven said, smiling rather nastily.

"What are you talking about?" Neji demanded, feeling unbalanced and not liking it.

"Hiashi never told you that four of your kinsmen, dressed in the gear of an elite recon team, were sent to the western woods of our estate…and that I sent one of them back in pieces as a message for the others." Sasuke whispered, the threat heavy in his voice.

"No." Neji replied, feeling anger twist his belly.

Hiashi had sent him into a situation already on the verge of violence without crucial information, information that he needed to have! Neji had understood that there were things he did not know about the relationship between the Hyuuga clan and that of Uzumaki, but he had no idea that someone had already died. No wonder Hiashi had been so desperate to repay his debt to Naruto following the duel. The Hyuuga leader had already made a covert statement of war and without something as drastic as a favorable political marriage, clan Uzumaki could attack with impunity.

"I meant what I said. I have no wish to hurt your family, Naruto is my friend…" Neji said, sighing heavily.

"He was my friend too, and that did not stop my family from convincing me that I had to kill him. Even after all of them were dead, I still fought on, murdering for a cause I never really truly understood until Naruto took me. I know how it works." Sasuke replied quietly.

"Your brother was insane…"

"And are you so sure that Hiashi isn't?" Sasuke asked sharply, his expression cold with some old wound.

"I…I do not know." Neji whispered.

"Che. Whatever. Come eat." Sasuke snapped crossing his arms and looking away.

"I'll stay. I'm not hungry anyway. Thank you." Neji replied, looking away.

"Naruto won't stop asking and I already have a headache…" Sasuke groused, his tone a warning.

"I'm sure it will be fine…" Neji argued.

"As much as I might prefer it, you aren't a prisoner here, and Naruto won't treat you like one. We are your family now and that is something you need to accept!" Sasuke snapped.

"A family that locks people into root cellars with their eyes gouged out?" Neji taunted, laughing bitterly.

"One of us was born an Uchiha." Sasuke said as he turned and strode out of the door.

Neji stood and moved to follow the dark haired traitor. As he moved out into the hallway and away from the open door, the direction of the breeze changed. Neji stopped cold, his heart nearly coming to a stilling in his chest. He smelled it, the scent he had tried so many times to forget, the unmistakable smell of winter. The odor was unique, cold and clean and painfully arousing, and he had only ever experienced it in Anko's bed. Neji's eyes widened, startled, as the fragrance of Anko's hair and flesh, the scent that had clung to his own body after making love to her, the fragile fragrance too easily scrubbed away, washed over him again. Sasuke turned, looking over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow, waiting impatiently. The Hyuuga shook his head to clear it and moved closer, but the smell did not fade, only growing stronger and more enticing. Anko was not anywhere close by and the only other person in the hallway was Sasuke, but the smell was one he knew. Despite the strange circumstances and everything that had happened, the smell of winter still stirred him, making his heart hammer madly in his chest. Neji let his mouth fall open, searching the smell for…something, some way to understand. True, this scent was sharper, harder, more masculine than Anko's had been, but the character of it was undeniably the same. Though worrisome, the fragrance was just as intoxicating, perhaps even more so for its strength. Sasuke surveyed him, looking annoyed, as Neji moved to stand beside him.

"You…you smell like winter." Neji whispered, feeling a deep quiver settle into his gut.

"I guess. Naruto always says so. Why do you care?" Sasuke snarled, crossing his arms.

"I…It reminds me of someone I used to know." Neji replied quietly, still half drunk on the fragrance and the memories it brought.

"Did that someone try to kill you? Because I will! Hurry up!" Sasuke growled, angry.

"Sometimes, I truly wish she had." Neji muttered.

"Dammit! Is everyone Naruto marries completely fucking crazy?" Sasuke groused, striding down the hall.

OoOoOoO

Neji stared at the fish prepared with lychee nuts and rice with mushrooms and tried to ignore how badly his hands were shaking as he took a bite. Sakura smiled at him and Neji blushed, feeling both warmed and embarrassed by the gesture. Dinner turned out to be a tense affair made no better by Sasuke's rather obvious sulking, which Naruto tried, and failed, to ignore. Sai had been staring at him, unblinking, for at least twenty minutes and Sakura had already broken two tea cups out of sheer nervousness. The only person who was actually managing to eat normally was Sasuke, who had finished his first serving and was currently eating his second, chewing being a favorable alternative to talking. Naruto shoved his food around a bit more and asked Sakura about the weather for the third time. Neji sighed. Perhaps the root cellar would have been preferable after all.

"Are you really planning to kill us?" Sai asked suddenly and Naruto choked painfully on his rice.

"No. Apparently not." Sasuke muttered, spearing a piece of fish with his chopsticks as if the meat had personally insulted him.

"Neji would never do that." Naruto gruffly said when he could breathe again.

"Good. If you did, I would kill you so quickly that you would not have time to inhale." Sai said and smiled.

"Sai!" Sakura hissed, kicking the artist hard beneath the table.

Sai flinched, but the smile never budged. The whole effect was exceedingly creepy and Neji wondered how Sakura had ever come to love someone so strange. Regardless, Neji knew that Sai would ruthlessly dispatch any threat, regardless of the consequences. The knowledge was not unexpected, but it still made Neji faintly ill.

"I am not planning to kill anyone. May I go?" Neji asked with a sigh, setting the chopsticks aside.

"Sure, I mean…I guess so…I mean…if you want to that is…" Naruto fumbled lamely.

"You haven't eaten hardly anything Neji…" Sakura whispered, upset.

"Maybe he's sick of mushrooms…" Sai postulated.

"Don't project." Sasuke muttered, shooting Sai a reproachful glance.

"Neji, please, I know it's a little… rough at first, but everything will be okay! Believe it!" Naruto said, smiling a bit too forcefully.

"I'm really not hungry." Neji replied.

"Just eat. If you worry my wife, I'll kill you." Sasuke hissed.

"Sasuke!" Naruto snapped.

"Please don't worry. May I be excused?" Neji asked, keeping his eyes locked firmly onto the table before him.

"Why is he asking you?" Sai asked, raising an eyebrow at Naruto.

"Neji…" Naruto sighed, frowning a little at Sai.

"Please understand me. I do not want to be here any more than you want to have me." Neji hissed, rising.

"What makes you think I don't want you?" Naruto asked quietly and the conversation ceased.

"The shouting, when you were arguing, you said…" Neji began, suddenly feeling awkward.

"Just because I don't like being forced to do things, or being told by my Teme that I have to sexually assault my friends, doesn't mean I don't want you here. The situation is a little shaky, but it doesn't have anything to do with you." Naruto said, crossing his arms and glaring briefly at Sasuke.

"Someone has to tell you the truth of things. You are too naïve." Sasuke grumbled.

"And you are too jaded, asshole, believe it." Naruto replied, smiling a little.

"Tch." Sasuke responded haughtily, but his eyes were warm.

"But…Hiashi…He practically forced you…" Neji said, startled by the jinchuuriki's bold statement.

"You, Neji Hyuuga, are one of the greatest ninja in all Konoha. You were the one we all looked up to, the one everyone talked about, aspired to…even idiots like me thought you were cool." Naruto said, blushing a little.

"You…you really thought that?" Neji whispered.

"Everyone did! Everyone thought you were the greatest! Well, everyone except for Sasuke…" Naruto said smiling.

"This isn't a team, Naruto, and it isn't the academy either! I practically belong to you!" Neji hissed bitterly.

"It's surprisingly close to being a team though, except that now there's sex and Sasuke and we eat a lot more mushrooms..." Sai said. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Just shut up and eat the damn things!" Sasuke snapped.

"I...I mean you do…I guess…belong to me, I mean…but…it isn't like…that." Naruto replied lamely, cheeks burning.

"Like what?" Neji asked coldly.

"I told you bringing him to dinner was a stupid idea. Baka." Sasuke grumbled.

"Don't we all just…belong to each other?" Sakura asked softly.

Everyone was silent at that, turning to look at the rose haired kunoichi as she toyed self-consciously with her chopsticks. Neji sighed and moved to sit down again. Sai rested his chin on Sasuke's shoulder and the raven haired ninja flinched a little, but did not push him away. Naruto looked at him, his eyes such a vibrant hue of blue that it almost hurt to look at and Neji felt as if everything he was had been laid bare for the blond to see.

"If having you by my side buys peace for my family and for yours, then…I'm only just grateful." Naruto said at last, his voice quiet.

"Grateful." Neji laughed, his voice hard and bitter in his own mouth.

"Who wouldn't be grateful to have you?" Naruto asked, smiling a little.

The expression was tentative, warm and very innocent. Neji felt the hidden truth of his purpose, to wait and watch, like frozen stones in his belly. Naruto smiled at him and despite the fact that his ANBU face lay in a thousand pieces and that his future had been crumpled up and burned away for the sake of politics, Neji felt…precious.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neji decides to test the force of his authority with Naruto and discovers what it means to challenge the will of a jinchuuriki. Meanwhile, Kiba is thrust further into the intrigue surrounding Hiashi's plans and Sai confronts a relic from his past that threatens to tear him apart.

The initiation of the thrall is a difficult and dangerous process for both the Jinchuuriki performing the claiming and the subordinate being subjected to the energy transfer. Perhaps the best way to describe the manner in which a Jinchuuriki claims its mates is to say that the creature forces a kind of reciprocal resonance in the chakra of the recipient. The Jinchuuriki drives its own energy through the meridians of its mate, forcing the human's more fragile chakra to cleave to the foreign vibrations or succumb completely. For this reason, many ninja die in the process of claiming and the chakra of those who survive is permanently altered, allowing the alpha to influence its subordinate's actions. Whether or not a thrall can be achieved in the absence of sexual intercourse has been hotly debated, especially considering the apparent claiming the Jinchuuriki Yuki Ookami achieved over the Suna warlord in the last battle of the age of fire. Writers describing the battle insist that Yuki Ookami never even touched his opponent, much less intimately, but overwhelmed his chakra from afar. One detail that rarely receives due consideration in this example is that the Suna warlord, whose full name has never even been accurately recorded, was driven completely insane by the process and committed suicide mere hours later. As for the Jinchuuriki, Yuki Ookami never mated again for the entirety of his lifetime and lost full use of his right hand following the other man's death. Thus, I submit that the sexual association with the act of claiming is largely irrelevant considering the more significant impact that the process has upon both the alpha and subordinate engaged in the thrall. Regardless of how the connection is achieved, the claiming changes all those involved, permanently.

-Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons

Neji breathed deeply and began the form again, correcting the tiny inaccuracies of his posture and stance, making every movement perfect, intentional. His muscles strained in the stance, quivering with fatigue, but Neji banished the discomfort from his mind. The Hyuuga ninja embraced the pain and let it flow through him, away from him, leaving only emptiness behind. The kata was something to do, a way to combat the ever present boredom, but Neji needed the focus that the exercise brought. Remaining distant and isolated, objective, was proving to be ever more difficult. Every night, Naruto sent either Sasuke or Sai to bully him into joining them for dinner and every night Neji found himself wishing the meal had lasted just a little longer. Neji wanted to laugh at Naruto's stories and Sasuke's sarcasm, he wanted to smile and comment on Sai's artwork or compliment Sakura's cooking, but he always ate as quickly as possible and returned to his room. The tradition had become a new and subtle form of torture, an open door that his chains prevented him from ever using. Naruto wanted him to join them, to be a part of them, but to do so meant abandoning the task his clan had set for him. Hiashi had told him to please as best he could, but his leader had never considered the possibility that by doing so Neji might be pleased in return…that he might lose his objectivity completely. Neji sighed and moved through the form again.

"Wanna come do that with me in the dojo?" Naruto's unmistakable voice said from the doorway.

"I am content here. Thank you." Neji said softly, continuing the kata and hoping that the blond would leave.

"There isn't enough room in here to do it properly. The dojo is much nicer, Sasuke designed it himself and if it wasn't perfect he probably would have burned it down and started over by now…" Naruto pushed, smiling charmingly.

"I want to be alone, if I may." Neji replied, the brilliant fiery blue of Naruto's eyes drawing his gaze even as he tried to look away.

"Sakura says you enjoy her company and she isn't feeling good enough today for her usual visit. I'm plenty of fun, really!" Naruto said.

"I mean no disrespect to you. I prefer to be alone." Neji said, hoping that the jinchuuriki hadn't been offended.

"I know, you've said that before, but it's just that you were never quite this solitary in the academy so…" Naruto said, gesturing vaguely and looking away.

"So…" Neji asked, pausing in his forms and moving to face the blond demon vessel fully.

"So…It must be me." Naruto whispered, his expression suddenly somber and dark with some old hurt.

"That's not it." Neji said, feeling his guts twist as a bitter smile curved across Naruto's mouth.

"It's okay. Lots of people don't like me." He said, shrugging a little.

Seeing that expression on Naruto's face was awful and strange and totally at odds with the person Naruto was supposed to be. They had never been close enough to talk so intimately and to see the private scars that Naruto still carried was shocking in a way Neji had never experienced before. The blond was always so fiercely optimistic, so sunny and almost unstoppably cheerful in a way that was just as powerful as the most potent rage. The bitter ghost of a smile on the Naruto's lips seemed unnatural, yet Neji had the strong impression that it was one he had practiced often. Now that they were adults, it was sometimes difficult to remember that the powerful jinchuuriki had once been a filthy, hated orphan that people threw stones at in the street. Neji suddenly felt dirty, guilty by mere association.

"I…I do like you. That isn't why…why I have kept apart." Neji said softly, finally looking away.

"It's fine, don't worry…" Naruto said, smiling stiffly and turning to leave.

"Naruto! Wait!" Neji shouted, darting out to catch the jicnhuuriki's hand.

It happened so quickly, the action already over before he had even managed to think about what such a gesture might mean. Naruto's eyes were large and startled, locked onto Neji's face like blue mirrors as the Hyuuga panicked and tried to think of something to say. Neji swallowed hard and attempted not to think about the fact that his fingers were wrapped firmly around the blond's wrist, that they were touching. Naruto opened his mouth and closed it again, but made no move to pull away.

"That…that really isn't why. It really isn't." Neji said firmly in the same voice he would use with a student.

"Then what is it?" Naruto hissed, blue eyes still haunted and hurt.

"I can't tell you." Neji whispered shakily, biting his lip.

"Why the hell not?" Naruto snapped.

Neji did not answer him, he could never have said the words anyway even if they were freezing him to death just behind his teeth. The words would have made him a traitor and the truth was not a luxury he possessed. Instead, before he could think about how unbelievably wrong all of this was, Neji jerked a hand behind Naruto's neck and smashed their mouths together. Naruto grunted, stepping backward and dragging Neji with him. The kiss, if anything so desperate and awkward could even be called that, was hot and uncomfortable. Naruto drew his lips back from his teeth in a startled snarl and Neji had to use his greater height to force the jinchuuriki's mouth back against his own. Naruto was strong and resistant, the pulse in the blond's captured wrist pounding fast and hard with panic, but Neji did not let go. The blond's mouth was powerful, accustomed to gaining submission, and Naruto grappled with him awkwardly. In another situation the demon vessel could have easily pushed him away, but Neji used his leverage to full advantage and Naruto was left quivering in silent shock. There was a kind of snarling, snapping, grating of teeth and biting of tongues before Neji managed to find the wits he had lost and let go. He gasped, bringing a shaky hand up to press gingerly at the small cut Naruto's teeth had left on his lips.

The jinchuuriki had plastered himself against the wall, wide-eyed and feral, breathing hard. His teeth were long and sharp and the pupils of his blue eyes narrow slits as the fox surfaced in face of the perceived attack. Naruto swallowed once and managed to bring his breathing under control, though Neji could still feel the other man's pulse jumping under his fingers. Neji had never loved a man before and had been fully resigned to the fact that he was probably completely heterosexual, despite what Hiashi might want. He had been ready, prepared, to receive Naruto's ardor if he gave it, never dreaming he might actually want that kind of connection. Yet there was something exciting about the blond's mouth and body and the way he smelled…Things with Naruto inevitably became complicated and here they were, shocked silent and still cringing from a bloody first kiss that he had initiated. Neji was not even sure what it was that he wanted, other than to keep his secrets and not break the blond vessel's heart, but he had not succeeded on either front. Naruto was blushing profusely and in another situation the effect might have been beautiful, but Neji's heart was beating too fast and too hard to grant him the objectivity needed to appreciate it.

"I…I don't understand." Naruto whispered.

"I…I'm sorry, I just had to show you…it isn't you." Neji replied lamely, breathing hard.

"It is very dangerous to be that way with me, Neji." Naruto said quietly, wiping his lips and regaining a small measure of his composure.

The jinchuuriki's tone brought out something sharp and competitive in Neji's nature, something only Anko had been able to touch before. The implication in Naruto's voice was that the Hyuuga was not strong enough to handle him, that he was too fragile to weather whatever it was Naruto would do. The worst part of it was that, even with the gentle and somewhat frightened way that he gave the warning, the implication carried far too much weight. Naruto was one of very few people who had actually beaten the Hyuuga genius at anything. Neji was not stupid, he knew that people died in attempted couplings with the demon vessels and that the claiming was difficult and painful, but the Hyuuga had never met his match in anything. Even Anko, a woman as proud and powerful as any demon, eventually succumbed to the force of Neji's will. Of course, the fact that he had driven her to near madness and been summarily ejected from her life was only a tiny ringing siren of reason in his mind. He hated, above all things, to lose.

"Why is that?" Neji asked softly, tipping his head in challenge.

The gesture was not lost on Naruto, who stiffened again and narrowed his eyes into thin blue slits. For a moment they remained that way, surveying one another across a distance that was less than a breath and could have been a mile. Naruto eyed Neji's hand still wrapped around his wrist and for once Neji did not have trouble believing that he was not really human. The jinchuuriki's blue eyes moved, slow and purposeful, even as the rest of his flesh remained totally still. A tiny thrill of fear flashed through Neji's heart, but it was not enough to stop him.

"Why don't you want me to touch you…to kiss you?" Neji whispered, tightening his hand on Naruto's wrist to make his point.

"I like you too much." The blond said, smiling in a way that showed all his teeth.

"I want you to like me." Neji whispered, his voice becoming rough and a bit sultry.

"Don't tease…it really isn't a good idea." Naruto growled, his fangs grown long and very sharp.

"Why? It's bound to happen sooner or later, or don't you like me enough to fuck me?" Neji mocked.

Naruto's eyes widened at the words and he blushed brightly. Neji enjoyed his discomfort for the victory it was and tried to ignore the terrible feeling in his gut. The situation felt bad, felt like a mistake, but he was too far into the challenge now to stop.

"I don't think you have any idea about what you're saying. There's a lot more to it than just a casual screw, Neji! It's for life! Believe it!" Naruto snarled.

"Regardless, that is why I'm here." Neji purred, bringing Naruto's captive hand to his mouth with a forceful jerk.

"Neji…" Naruto warned.

The Hyuuga ignored him, letting his tongue play over the twitching tendons of Naruto's captive wrist. The jinchuuriki gasped and moved to pull his hand away, but Neji held him fast. The blond was not using all of his strength, he was still holding back, and the truth of it set Neji's temper ablaze. He wanted to be taken seriously, to be respected, to win this little challenge of wills as he had every other before. He sucked Naruto's thumb into his mouth, snaking his tongue up and over the sharp claw, gratified to hear the blond's breath hitch again.

"For a genius, you are being amazingly stupid." Sasuke's icy, sardonic voice cut through the air between them like a knife.

"S…Sasuke!" Naruto gasped, looking both embarrassed and mildly relieved.

"I got tired of waiting for you in the dojo, dobe." Sasuke groused, moving to stand just behind his alpha and glare furious crimson into Neji's eyes.

Sai, as usual in his newfound position as Sasuke's shadow, emerged from the hallway as well. The artist rested his hand over Neji's on Naruto's wrist, as Sasuke watched him like a snake does its prey. Caught between them, Naruto growled under his breath and tried to bring himself back under control. The three of them seemed to act in harmony and Neji was reminded again that Naruto had basically become part of Sasuke's very spirit, that they were one being… Suddenly the idea of pushing Naruto to claim him sexually seemed far more intimate and terrifying than it had a moment ago.

"Remove your hand. Now." Sai ordered, his voice cold.

There was no room for discussion in Sai's tone and Neji had no delusions about the fact that the artist would just as soon snap his wrist then ask again. He released Naruto from his grip, expecting the jinchuuriki to pull his hand away, but instead Naruto moved forward. The blond's eyes were almost purple, the slit pupils blown wide with anger or passion or some other feeling Neji could not discern. Moving fast with confidence that he had not displayed when faced with the situation alone, Naruto gripped Neji's chin and tipped the Hyuuga's gaze away from Sasuke to meet his own.

"Do not do this again. It isn't a game." Naruto hissed angrily before turning on his heel and marching out of the room.

Neji watched him leave, feeling an odd mixture of shame and disappointment. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him and watched Naruto leave with his calculating sharingan eyes before meeting Neji's gaze again. Sasuke's face was a mask, but Neji could still tell that he was intrigued as well as angry. Sai, of course, had no expression at all as he waited by Sasuke's side.

"Why did you stop me? Isn't it what you wanted, to have me under the thrall?" Neji asked softly.

"While I wouldn't really mind if Naruto lost control and fucked your arrogant ass through the floor boards, I'd never hear the end of it if he accidentally killed you." Sasuke replied, scowling.

"As if you care." Neji spat.

"I don't, not about you, but I'm not ready to spend the rest of my life trying to convince Naruto that he's still a good person after he wakes up six inches deep in your bloody corpse." Sasuke snarled nastily.

"Six inches…?" Sai murmured.

Sasuke shrugged, "He's bigger when he's hard."

"Oh." Sai replied, satisfied.

"I'm not weak, I won't die! You had no right to interfere!" Neji hissed.

"I don't really understand what your problem is, but sex with Naruto is not about winning. It's about surviving and then belonging to him…forever. Think about that next time you feel the urge to be an intractable idiot. Let's go, Sai, I want to spar before dinner." Sasuke snapped, striding out into the hall without so much as a hint of hesitation.

Sai waited a moment before turning to Neji, his flat eyes darker with some unfathomable almost-feeling. The artist moved towards him with the grace of a hunting panther, body relaxed and yet alert, ready to fight. Neji tensed and prepared to fight.

"Naruto does not like to hurt people. You should love him for this." Sai said, his eyes hard.

"Sai!" Sasuke shouted from the hallway.

The artist left, relocking the seals on the door as he went, and Neji was left alone to contemplate what he had almost done.

OoOoOoO

Kiba let his hand rest on the tiny child's head, but the fever had not abated and the boy would not survive another night this way. He was so little, one of the smallest children of four years old that he had ever seen, barely bigger than a good sized puppy. Living in the Hyuuga stronghold had been foreign and uncomfortable, but Kiba still felt it was his duty to serve his new family as best he could and that meant not letting little boys die in the night if there was any way around it. The medicine he had given Toki earlier was not working and it was the strongest that he knew of for a fever. Kiba cursed softly under his breath and clenched his hand into a tight fist. Hinata loved Toki, she loved all the children, and he knew she was unhappy that they had not yet conceived one of their own. His death would sadden her in a way that even he could barely imagine, not to mention the wreckage left of the boy's family.

All of this would only remind Hinata of her own longing to begin a family and the pressure of it was already keeping Kiba awake at night. He had tried to remind her that they were not even officially married yet and that babies came at their own pace, but Hinata worried anyway. She wanted a child to love and to cuddle, but Kiba was not naïve enough to think that baby cuteness was all there was to it. His woman wanted an heir so that Hiashi would never have any right to dissolve their marriage, so that they could stay together. Kiba bathed the boy's face with ice water, but the action was beginning to feel useless…he was beginning to feel useless.

Hinata spoke in soft, reassuring tones to the Toki's mother in the doorway as Kiba tried to find the words to tell her that the child would likely be gone by morning. He growled, frustrated, and Akamaru whined softly at his feet. The room was stifling and the scent of sickness and sorrow was heavy in the air. The little boy had fallen ill, just as the servant girl had, but Kiba was at a loss for how the infection was still managing to spread through the Hyuuga household. He had checked all the food and all the linens and still death managed to find its way into the compound. There was something purposeful in this insidious infection, even if he did not have all the information necessary to understand what it was his instincts were trying to convey. The Hyuuga clan ruled Konoha and surely they had enemies, but Kiba could not fathom why a defenseless child might be targeted. True, Toki was a Hyuuga, but he was so in the same way that Akamaru was an Inuzuka and probably with even less status. Toki and his parents were both members of the Branch house and so little better than servants to the few, elite members of the Main house. Even though he was barely four years old, the green curse mark had already been drawn on the boy's forehead, branding him for a life of submission. The whole tradition was sick, but Kiba had no right to complain since this was the family he had chosen to enter. If he married Hinata it would end up being his tradition too and when she carved the spell into the faces of other children he would have no choice but to bite he tongue and watch.

How he missed the simple, direct lifestyle of the Inuzuka clan and the way his family based status on accomplishments instead of pre-ordained birth rank. True, his sister would one day rule for his family, but Granny reserved the right to reject her claim if someone more able came to the forefront. Blood was powerful to the dog lords, but ability trumped everything. Granny would be here soon and they would talk and perhaps she would know a way to save the boy's life. The Inuzuka secrets were all passed down from mother to daughter and so there could be much that Kiba had never been told. Still, Granny would not like the idea of using ancient Inuzuka knowledge to save the life of a Hyuuga and the woman was nothing if not stubborn. Kiba stood from his position beside the child's cot and gestured for Akamaru to follow him.

"Kiba-sama! Please! Can you save him?" The boy's mother whispered urgently, her strange white eyes sunken with terror and fatigue.

"I can't, he is very sick and I'm not a healer." Kiba whispered, feeling his heart ache as tears spilled down the woman's cheeks again.

"But you know her, the surgeon, the one who save Neji! Perhaps she can…"

"Hiashi will never allow it and Toki might be beyond even Sakura's skills. I've never seen a fever act so quickly or burn so hot. Even if I called for her now, Sakura might not be able to save him either." Kiba explained sadly.

"Toki has been weak ever since he was a baby, there is no way of knowing if anyone has the power to save him now." Hinata said softly, placing a reassuring hand on the woman's arm.

"T…T…Thank you both for at least coming…for staying with him…" Toki's mother broke down sobbing, her shoulders heaving.

It hurt to watch her, to watch her thank them for doing nothing just because the elite had come to offer what nothing they could. It hurt to know that even if Toki survived, no matter how talented or determined the boy might be, he would be doomed to a life of servitude. The Gods knew that there had never been anyone possessed of more native talent than Neji Hyuuga and even he had finally succumbed to the curse of Hyuuga traditionalism. Kiba was still sorry for his part in Neji's fall, but as he learned more about the Hyuuga clan he came to understand that it was only a matter of time. His friend might have stayed in ANBU a while longer and perhaps even been allowed to lead the organization, but to his family Neji would always be a servant and nothing more. Even now, Neji was playing concubine to Naruto when the man should be leading armies and forging alliances…it was so unfair.

"Eh…there is still a chance." Kiba whispered, meeting Hinata's probing stare over the woman's shoulder.

"How?" Hinata asked.

"My matriarch comes tonight to discuss the last details of my marriage to your Hime. She is old and very wise and she might know something that I can do. At least, I will ask." Kiba promised.

"You…you would do that? For us?" The woman asked, eyes wide with surprise.

"Of course." Kiba whispered, blushing hard as Toki's mother threw herself at his feet.

"Please! Kagura! There is no need for this!" Hinata said, dropping into a crouch to try to urge the woman off of her knees.

"Thank you! Thank you! He is my life!" The woman, Kagura, wailed.

Kiba looked away and prayed that Granny knew something, some ancient medicine or procedure, anything that might be used to save the boy. He was tired of feeling useless and if he had to be one of the few leaders of Hinata's strange family, it would not be simply because he had fallen in love with a princess instead of a serf. Blood was powerful, but ability was everything.

OoOoOoO

The dojo was unnervingly silent as they moved through the forms together, trying to achieve martial synchrony…and failing. Usually Sasuke wanted silence when he practiced, but today the quiet was too absolute, too tense. It was wearing on his nerves and the fact that the three of them had been totally unable to find a consistent rhythm in their movements was doing nothing to soothe his temper. Sasuke fought the urge to clench his teeth as they began the kata over again, moving from rest into the first position, their timing scattered and choppy. The problem was that Naruto always moved too soon and Sai too late, leaving Sasuke caught trying to find a balance between the two. Naruto punctuated his movements with an irate jerk, while Sai flowed from one pose to another without any pause at all, completely oblivious to the fact that doing so set him at odds with the other ninja. There was no balance between them, no harmony, and the effect was awkward.

"This isn't working." Sasuke snapped, stopping in the middle of the form with an aggravated hiss.

"Maybe we should just spar." Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms.

"I don't want to spar with you if you can't even focus on a simple kata and Sai refuses to spar at all." Sasuke huffed.

"I'm sorry. Let's try again and maybe it will smooth out." Naruto sighed moodily.

"Neji has upset you." Sai stated blankly.

"I'm fine." Naruto argued, looking away.

"Well, you aren't acting fine." Sasuke grumbled.

"Why don't we do some target drills?" Sai suggested, his fake smile turning Sasuke's stomach.

"Yeah, let's try that." Naruto agreed.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but helped them gather up the boxes of projectile weapons and move the targets into position anyway. At least with kunai, he could focus on his own body without having to rely on the others for synchrony. The weapons flew easily and accurately and soon Sasuke was pinning one kunai into the handle wrappings of the last, all stuck firmly in the perfect center of the target. Sai practiced throwing the weapons at angles, bouncing them off other surfaces in order to redirect towards his true target. The technique was tricky and Sasuke was grudgingly impressed by his skill, even though he himself had long ago abandoned advanced practice of the projectiles in favor of the sword. Sai was excellent with kunai and decent with his tanto, but Sasuke was one of the best swordsmen in the country. He wondered vaguely if perfection of one discipline was superior to generalized excellence of many and was freshly annoyed by Sai's refusal to spar with anyone. Sai caught his eye and flicked a shuriken into the very center of Sasuke's target with as much smugness as the artist ever showed.

Shocked, but far from uninterested, Sasuke proceeded to snap a kunai into the air and knock one of the Sai's previous strikes out of his target with a loud clang. Sai grinned and warmed to the game. They flung a shower of projectiles into one another's targets, moving quickly and responding to each attack until Sasuke's muscles were practically screaming and Sai was panting hard. In many ways, poaching one another's targets was a lot like sparring, but without the threat of Sai reverting to his training. Though he was not concerned about Sai ever being able to really hurt him, Sasuke had no interest in fighting a life or death match with the artist and so a bit of distance was satisfactory for both of them. As for Naruto, his accuracy was impressive, but not nearly as much as the force with which he threw the weapons. Where Sasuke had tried to pin one kunai into another, Naruto hammered his previous strikes into the target like nails into a board. The jinchuuriki had driven one of the blades fully through the wood of the target and was working on another when the target finally gave with a sharp crack and fell into splintered pieces.

"Dammit!" Naruto swore angrily, marching over to the target as if it had personally offended him.

"It's okay, I'm tired now anyway." Sasuke said, rubbing his sore shoulder.

"Yes. It is enough." Sai agreed.

"I guess you're right." Naruto sighed, jerking his kunai out of the wood with an angry crack.

Sasuke traded a look with Sai and decided that he had tolerated more than enough passive aggressive bullshit from people for one day. Ignoring the artist's faintly worried look, Sasuke marched over to where Naruto still fought to remove his weapons from the target and flicked the blond sharply on the forehead.

"Ow! What the fuck!" Naruto hissed.

"Talk. Now." Sasuke ordered, pushing his hands into his sleeves.

"There isn't anything to talk about, Teme!" Naruto snarled.

"You are angry. Why?" Sai asked, moving to stand on Naruto's other side.

"Look, I just, I'm not feeling well and…" The blond trailed off as Sasuke's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You aren't hurt and you haven't been sick in almost a decade." Sai noted, looking dubious.

"Regardless of how you feel, it's got something to do with Neji and I want to know what. Now!" Sasuke growled.

"Look, it really isn't important…" Naruto hedged, eyes locked firmly on his feet.

"Dobe, you are seriously pissing me off…" Sasuke hissed.

"I said it's nothing." Naruto pouted.

"He scared you." Sai announced, his tone firm with certitude.

Sasuke turned to look at the artist, but the man's posture was just as sure as his voice had been. Naruto swallowed hard, pressing his lips into a hard line, and the raven knew without any doubt that Sai had been right. He would have been unlikely to come to the same conclusion, but Sasuke had to admit that the notion did make an odd kind of sense. Naruto was not used to being afraid and generally reacted badly to the feeling. Sasuke had long ago decided that, in spite of any good sense or survival instinct the blond might have possessed, the jinchuuriki was not really afraid of anything. Even as a child Naruto had been brutally fearless in a way few nin ever achieved. The blond seemed unaffected by heights and was almost immune to torture, he thought fire was funny and merely found plagues vaguely gross. When he really thought about it, the only thing Naruto had actually admitted to being afraid of was ghosts, which was totally ridiculous. Sighing, Sasuke moved closer to the blond and let his hand rest firmly on his alpha's shoulder, slightly surprised when Naruto flinched a bit at the touch.

"You aren't seriously going to tell me that you are afraid of Neji, are you idiot?" Sasuke asked incredulously.

"Of course not!" Naruto snarled.

"Well, you were afraid. Maybe it was something he did." Sai suggested, moving to kneel beside them.

"I'm not afraid dammit!" Naruto hissed.

"You beat that arrogant ass into the ground when we were still children, how did he manage to scare you now?" Sasuke asked hotly, ignoring the blond's protestations.

"He just…got very close." Naruto mumbled.

Sasuke's eyes widened as another of the many puzzle pieces that was Naruto Uzumaki fell into place. Deciding that the matter deserved more than a passing thought, Sasuke sat as well, pulling Naruto roughly to the ground with him. The jinchuuriki landed on his knees with a soft grunt, but made no attempt to stand again, apparently ready to listen if nothing else. The sentiment did not necessarily make any sense, at least not if you were human, but Naruto was not really human at all. He knew the Jinchuuriki had been afraid when he changed the dynamic of their love play, even though his alpha had tried carefully not to show it. Sasuke had not spent a great deal of time thinking about it before, but Naruto had never actually been in a relationship in which he had not been the one in control. Neji had pushed him, cornered him and initiated physical contact in a way that was not only confident, but fully aggressive. Sasuke had always taken Naruto's rather dominant personality for granted and had not been shocked in the least when the Jinchuuriki had shamelessly ravished him. Yet, he had never thought about how such a trait might work in reverse…

"You're totally dominant, aren't you?" Sasuke asked softly, eyes widening slightly as understanding dawned on him.

"What?" Naruto asked, looking totally confused.

"I thought he was supposed to be dominant?" Sai asked, cocking his head.

"He is…it's just, well, something my sensei said…" Sasuke mused, shrugging.

"As if your sensei ever said anything useful…" Naruto grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"At least my sensei wasn't the most notorious pervert in the entire country!" Sasuke countered angrily.

"At least I didn't have to KILL my sensei to keep him from stealing my body! Talk about perverts!" Naruto snapped.

"At least mine took the art seriously!"

"Yeah as long as it suited HIM!"

"Well, what did he say?" Sai asked tonelessly, derailing the argument with smoothness Sasuke was certain he had learned from Sakura.

"He said that most people like to think of themselves as dominant, sexually dominant, but that it really isn't true." Sasuke explained.

"Of course not." Naruto sniped sarcastically.

"He said that the behavior was conditional and that people could be either way, given the right situation. The discussion was in regards to seducing a target to acquire information, because even the best nin can't be submissive with a weak partner…the behavior just won't seem natural." Sasuke continued, ignoring him.

"And this has to do with anything…how?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow dubiously.

"Stop interrupting and I'll tell you!" Sasuke snapped.

"Fine." Naruto conceded, rolling his eyes.

"So no one is really supposed to be dominant or submissive all the time but, for whatever reason, you are. You aren't EVER submissive, dobe, not even a little. You could be screwing the strongest ninja on the planet and it wouldn't make a damn bit of difference." Sasuke said.

"Yeah, so?" Naruto huffed.

"So, I think it scares you when people try to be dominant with you. You just can't adapt to that kind of behavior." Sasuke finished haughtily.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted indignantly.

"I suppose it does make sense." Sai agreed.

"It does NOT! If any of this is true, how come my own master never said anything? It's not like he wouldn't know!" Naruto argued.

"All of this is only useful to someone training for reconnaissance missions dealing with seduction, which you simply can't do. No Jinchuuriki could. He might have planned to tell you later, when you matured completely, but still…Even Master Jiraiya wouldn't be stupid enough to train you for seduction, you just don't have the temperament." Sasuke shrugged.

"Oh, and you do?" Naruto sniped.

"Clearly."

"It's not a bad thing. Like Sasuke said, most people want to be dominant all the time." Sai offered.

"That's probably why Neji freaked you out. Most people would just sort of be a bit submissive in that situation, many would actually enjoy it, but you can't. To you, it's just an attack and one that you don't know how to defend against." Sasuke continued, a bit more gently.

"It did sort of feel like an attack and I could have just fought him, I guess, but…" Naruto trailed off, sighing.

"But…?" Sai urged.

"If I did that, well, he might have been hurt and I don't want that…" Naruto said softly.

"Che, whatever. Next time he decides to be an idiot you should hurt him." Sasuke snarled.

"He already hates me though…" Naruto whispered, hiding his eyes in his hair and looking even more dejected.

"He doesn't hate you. He likes you." Sai said.

"How would you know?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sakura tells me." Sai said, shrugging.

"Sakura isn't always right, you know…" Naruto grumbled.

"No, just most of the time." Sai replied.

"Even I can't argue with that." Naruto said, smiling a little.

The artist moved just a fraction, resting his body weight against Naruto's side and leaning his head against the Jinchuuriki's shoulder. Naruto rumbled a little in appreciation of the gesture and the sound crawled up Sasuke's spine like a dart made of magma. Sai shivered a bit at the sound and moved closer, gently stroking the blond's chest. They touched for a while, careful and a little awkward, Naruto stroking Sai's cheek fondly. Sasuke watched for them for a long moment, noting the trepidation in Naruto's smile and movements, how his body language seemed more doting than romantic. He could tell that the Jinchuuriki was still uncomfortable, both hungry for intimacy and frightened of pushing his subordinates away. Sasuke found the sentiment stupid. People were what they were and Naruto was a confident and powerful lover, Neji Hyuuga and his stupid power play would never change the simple truth of his alpha's personality. Naruto had never hesitated before, either in matters of sex or anything else. In many ways the blond was like a force of nature, kindred to the elemental demon bound to his soul, and watching him waver seemed so unnatural. Sasuke hated to see it, the doubt, the subtle fear…such emotions had no place in his alpha.

The idea of inviting intimacy was still new and to do so with Sai newer still, but Sasuke was tired of feeling so unbalanced. Following Sai's lead, the raven haired ninja leaned into his alpha's back, enjoying the hard strength of Naruto's shoulders. The Jinchuuriki's eyes widened with surprise, but he leaned against Sasuke's body gratefully, sighing a little as the tension slowly eased from his back and shoulders. The blond rumbled again, the sound low and thick like warm honey or melted chocolate. The scintillating purr vibrated through the blond's body, bringing a deep and needed heat to Sasuke's belly and driving away everything except the hypnotic rhythm of Naruto's breathing. Sasuke closed his eyes, allowing himself to relax a little into the blond's familiar warmth, grateful for the moment of quiet contact. Sai nuzzled Naruto's arm, hungry as ever for touch, for affection. Though several days had passed and the ink nin had become a fixture in the household, Sasuke was still tentative about any kind of romantic interaction between them. He had kissed Sai, but at the time the action had seemed more about Naruto, more about Naruto's blood smeared in a tempting crimson stain across Sai's pale mouth. Sasuke shivered.

Sai was watching him intently from around Naruto's broad shoulder, his slate black eyes still and observant. Sasuke met the other ninja's look, and saw his own slightly bemused expression reflected in Sai's face. The artist had a strange habit of subconsciously copying the expressions of others when he wasn't using that horrible plastic smile as a mask. Finally relaxed and aroused by their nearness, Naruto sighed deeply and buried his nose in the heavy softness of Sai's black hair. Sai gasped, eyes growing wide with arousal and surprise. He really should have been jealous, Sasuke reflected as he watched Naruto pull Sai hotly against his body, but watching his alpha hold the artist was far more stirring than anything else. Sasuke knew what it felt like to be held that way, to feel the iron clasp of Naruto's arms and surrender to his molten kisses. Watching Sai melt into Naruto's embrace only served to stimulate his own memory, making the raven's breath come fast and hot. He had been jealous of Sai only as long as he had managed to avoid getting to know him and now that they were here together, exploring eroticism neither man had ever experienced, the emotion seemed so distant. The eager innocence that Sai portrayed any time he was touched was both endearing and titillating in equal measure and even Sasuke had learned to appreciate the man's graceful beauty. There was something in the arch of Sai's body that reminded him of a fine sword, hard and flexible at once, cultured and primal too. Naruto gently closed his jaws over the pulse in Sai's neck and a rosy blush spread over the ink nin's face as he moaned softly in the sensuous cage of the jinchuuriki's arms. Sasuke wet his lips and swallowed hard, his body already responding to the sounds and the closeness and the sheer sensuality of the situation.

Naruto kissed and held Sai often, but always carefully, never pushing too far or too quickly. No one could predict how Sai might react to any given situation and caution was not unwarranted, but Sasuke knew that it could not last much longer. Naruto was too passionate, too possessive to hold back forever and Sai wanted the unequivocal inclusion that such a claiming would bring. Sai reached for him, stroking the line of Sasuke's jaw with his talented fingers, leaving a trail of succulent heat behind. There was nothing threatening in the touch, no challenge present as there was in Naruto's embraces, yet it was…sweet. The raven closed his eyes, trying to decipher his own emotions. He hated, more than anything else, to be confused and yet there was nothing simple about his mates or Sai and the complexity of the feeling was daunting. Sasuke had been pulled apart once before by his brother and by his honor and by the sheer force of the raw hatred cultivated in his own heart. Even after years of peace and grudging affection, love was still foreign and overwhelming. Once he had treated love like an enemy and happiness like a dream, living only for vengeance. He had tried to burn all emotion from his mind, purge the feeling away like an illness, but the effort only yielded more pain. Naruto and Sakura had found him there in the darkness and pulled him from the depths of what could only be described as madness, but Sasuke had never experienced the kind of love that Sai offered him. Sai's love was not the passionate, savage, inexorable surge of pure salvation that Naruto's had been or the undeniable, constant, terrifying power with which Sakura had always loved him. The feeling was softer, more fragile, quiet and yet no less vast. Like him, the ink nin had been pulled apart and rescued in some way by his mates, but the nature of Sai's deliverance was slower, gradual, like a gentle river slowly grinding away a mountain. Like the first tender spark of life in a damp fire, Sai's love began as a tiny, fragile flicker and grew until the warmth of it permeated everything.

Sasuke could feel the warmth now and every time Sai looked at him or touched him or followed his steps through the house. Though new, Sasuke realized that he was drawn to the feeling, that he wanted to bask in it and be stirred. Naruto's love had been a command and Sakura's almost certitude, but Sai offered the emotion as one would incense in a shrine, with no expectation in the act at all. Sasuke found himself wanting to accept the offering. He wanted to touch and take and understand what made the artist so damn hypnotic. Sai's fingers were delicate against his skin, moving too quickly, nervous. Decision made, Sasuke caught the man's wrist and brought the fluttering hand to his lips like a captured butterfly. He paused, studying the artist's reaction, waiting to see if he would pull away. Sai cocked his head uncertainly, but then relaxed, letting his cheek rest against Naruto's shoulder.

There was affection in the subtle slide of Sai's fingers, the same fingers that had painted him and by doing so had learned to know him. Sasuke let the powerful fingers slide into his mouth, setting his teeth against the delicate joints and the enjoying the tantalizing tremor that shook the captive flesh. Yes, there was something intoxicating in that artist's easy submission and it was not weakness. Naruto tipped Sai's mouth against his own, kissing the ink nin passionately even as Sasuke stroked his own tongue over the roughened pads of the man's fingers. Sai moaned softly against Naruto's lips. The sound lit Sasuke's blood on fire, sending streaming geysers of heat through his veins to fill the sensitive flesh between his legs. Tentatively, Sasuke reached around Naruto's waist to stroke the slender curve of the artist's waist. The muscle quivered against his fingers and Sasuke felt another bolt of arousal rush hot and insistent through his spine. Naruto shifted his body a little and suddenly Sasuke was being pulled against the jinchuuriki's chest, a set of powerful clawed fingers tight in his hair. Sasuke fought him a little, peeved at being manhandled in front of Sai, but Naruto's hand was inescapable and the artist was caught just as surely as he was. The blond's sensuous rumble rolled across the exposed flesh of Sasuke's throat as Naruto shifted his clever teeth from Sai's pulse to his own. Sasuke cried out, shutting his eyes tightly as the smooth arch of the jinchuuriki's fangs caressed his heated skin. Sai's knee was against his own, straddling the blond's thigh even as Naruto pressed the hardened ridge of Sasuke's arousal against his pelvis. Helpless to resist him and trapped in the muscular grip of Naruto's legs, Sasuke undulated against his alpha. Naruto gasped, the sound needy and filled with approval.

Satisfied with his submission, Naruto ran his hand lower, stroking the curve of Sasuke's buttock, cupping the muscle and kneading maddeningly. The touch was electric and Sasuke moaned and moved against his alpha again, dimly aware the Sai was also moving with them, held just as he was in Naruto's arms. Naruto kissed him, the power and confidence of his mouth making Sasuke moan again as the raven wound his arms around Naruto's neck and returned the kiss with ardor. Sai mouthed awkward, trembling kisses along the edge of the jinchuuriki's jaw, laying his left hand tentatively against Sasuke's shoulder. After giving his ass one last appreciative squeeze, Naruto moved his hand boldly over Sasuke's erection, running his thumb in firm strokes over the seam of the raven's hakama pants. Sasuke moaned and opened his eyes in time to see Sai grit his teeth as Naruto's other hand stroked his chest, finding the tender nipples through the fitted fabric of the ink nin's shirt. The blond tugged and pulled and in what felt like a matter of moments, Sai's shirt had been tossed onto the floor and Sasuke's kimono was pooled in sultry folds around his hips. Naruto looked at them for a moment, his pupils wide, aroused slits in the burning azure of his eyes. Sasuke met his eyes and shivered.

He kissed them, plunging his tongue deeply into Sai's willing mouth and plundering Sasuke's lips with just enough aggression to leave the raven gasping. They moved, it was inevitable, the tempo set too appealing, too magnetic, to resist. Even as shameless as it was, Sasuke ground his body against Naruto, pressing hard against him. The sharp sparks of ecstasy as Sai's thigh rubbed against his own lost in the typhoon of pleasure that action brought. At last, the unattainable rhythm that had been so markedly lacking in their training was achieved and the men moved with perfect synchrony, thrusting against each other wantonly. Naruto, Sasuke realized dimly, was their metronome and without him harmony was impossible. Confident now, the blond held them tightly, bending his hips to meet them. Sai muffled a shocked cry into Naruto's collar as the jinchuuriki moved to cup the firm flesh between the artist's legs, still running teasing teeth over the column of Sasuke's neck. There was danger in this, in the razor caress of the shallow pulse leaping just beneath his skin and in the inescapable steel of Naruto's hands, and it was this that Neji could not understand. The succulent peril that was loving Naruto, the feeling of struggle and shattering control along with the pleasure, a sensation too different for the Hyuuga to comprehend. Sasuke snarled a little, the sound needy and a bit breathless.

Naruto responded to him, as he always did, stroking his shoulders and thumbing the raven's sensitive nipples until the flesh was firm and flushed. The jinchuuriki bent Sasuke back, taking advantage of the other ninja's flexibility, holding his hips tight to his own. Sasuke moved and stretched, gasping as his alpha bit gently into the muscular rise of his left pectoral muscle. Naruto clamped his teeth around the captured flesh and pulled in the most shockingly erotic way possible. Sasuke hissed, both at the roughness of Naruto's mouth and the tingling sensation that the action brought, bending until his shoulders met the padded tatami of the dojo floor. Sai was there with him, tangled up in Naruto and breathing hard, lying in an artful disarray of paper white skin and silken hair only a breath away. The jinchuuriki's hands were against his cheek, the touch firm and insistent, and when Sasuke's lips met Sai's there was no pretense left. In Sai's awkward, delicious, powerful mouth Sasuke could taste the warmth he had felt in the other man's touch all along and reveled in it. This kiss had nothing to do with Naruto, even though the jinchuuriki's claws were still against his jaw, but about the tender and exotic vulnerability that Sai brought to everything. If Naruto's love was like a fire, Sai's was a kind of nectar, sweet and impossible to resist. Pride forgotten, Sasuke could only savor the taste and come undone in their arms.

OoOoOoO

Sai was shaking, he could not help it, even though he was not cold or afraid. His body trembled, muscles shaking, breath coming fast, as if he had been running for many days without sleep, but he did not feel tired. Sai had never been a very good runner, at least not as far as moving with speed was concerned, and he had often felt shaky, close to collapse, when he was a child. It was a bad feeling, often followed by pain, and for a moment he worried that Sasuke might think he was weak. Sasuke hated weakness, but the raven was shaking too and moving so deliciously that for a moment Sai forgot about everything except the scent of his skin and the feel of Naruto's calloused hand on his jaw. They lay on the floor of the dojo, breathing hard and shaking together and so Sai decided that the phenomenon must be normal. More importantly, even if the quivering shook the very marrow from his bones, Sai did not want to stop.

Naruto was making his body feel hot and tender and very good, touching places that no one had ever touched before and doing things with his mouth and teeth. Teeth were erotic, Sai decided, and even more so when they were long and sharp and clicking maddeningly against his own. Naruto released his mouth and moved him against Sasuke, a hand on each of them, guiding them together. Sai did not resist the jinchuuriki, he could not understand how anyone ever did, but bolt of fear moved through the artist at the act all the same. What if Sasuke didn't want to? What if it just made the ever volatile raven angry? Before the thought could turn hard and frozen in his belly, Sasuke was already melting it with his lips, kissing Sai with the same ardor with which the dark haired ninja did everything. Sai moaned against Sasuke's powerful lips, opening his mouth as the raven surged in, stroking and nipping him as if he wanted to crawl inside and be one. The artist moaned, unable to contain the feeling, running his hands over the porcelain perfection of Sasuke's naked chest. The raven's nipples were lovely, pink and sensitive looking, and Sai liked the way that Sasuke snarled when he held them between his fingers. Naruto touched him there too, moving his tongue maddeningly over Sai's nipples, lingering over the areola in slow, wet licks that spread heat all the way through the rest of the artist's body. Sasuke bit his mouth and there was pain, but the moist sensuality of the other ninja's tongue soothed the sting away even before Sai could really feel it. They kissed and breathed and moved together and Sai could feel something building in his body, a kind of pressure. Naruto touched the hard flesh of his arousal again and the artist felt the air leave his lungs in a harsh rush. He dug his fingers hard into Sasuke's jaw and into Naruto's thigh as the pleasure thundered through his body, leaving his vision too bright. The others were hard too, he could feel the firm column of Naruto's penis against his knee and Sasuke's hardened body against his hip and even through their clothing the sensation excited him.

In Root, another person's body had been something of only passing cognitive interest, but now the thought of how Sasuke might look, naked and aroused, was nearly enough to send Sai over the edge. There was an edge, he knew, he could feel it every time Naruto stroked his erection and every time Sasuke thrust against his hip. The pressure was building, low and hot, concentrated like a ball of burning accelerant. Though the artist had no idea what might be on the other side of the precipice, he was helpless to stop the feeling. Naruto was above him, around him, and Sai knew instantly that it was the blond's hands pulling the tight fabric of his pants down and away. Sasuke's hands would have been rougher, more impatient, and only Naruto could manage to do something as mundane as undress someone and still manage to touch every inch. The jinchuuriki undid the ties on Sasuke's pants with his teeth, running his tongue hungrily over the angular ridge of the raven's elegant hip bone. Sai watched, unable to tear his eyes away, the blood loud and surging in his ears. There was a shuffling of limbs and fabric and Sasuke cursing softly against his lips and then both of them were naked within the cage of Naruto's arms. The blond moved a little to place a knee in between each of their legs and then he was against them, grinding hard, the fabric of his pants rough against Sai's virgin skin. He bit his lip, feeling a surprising thrill of wetness as his flesh responded to the sensation. It was wet, he was wet and he had never been that way before. The artist whimpered a little and Sasuke nuzzled his neck affectionately, the raven's hands gentle in a way that his words never were. Sai had never been aroused enough to generate pre-cum before and he was a little afraid, but Naruto purred against the shell of his ear and the sound made him feel so good that he forgot to care.

The jinchuuriki bent to the dripping tip of Sasuke's penis, rumbling his satisfaction as he lapped at the moisture there with long, slow strokes of his velvety tongue. The pressure was so hard now, almost pain, and Sai grunted as his testicles tightened. Sasuke's face was flushed and unguarded as he cried out, winding his bruising fingers into Naruto's golden hair. For a moment Sasuke's hands and lips were alone on the artist's flesh and then the jinchuuriki was against them again, hot and skilled and naked as well. Sai should have been afraid or ashamed, but all he could feel was the sweet, terrible, all-consuming wanting that Sasuke's pale beauty and Naruto's golden sensuality stirred in him. He wanted, so much and so hard, that the feeling turned into a desperate sound and Sai practically screamed as Sasuke's palm found his slickened erection and rubbed. The raven kissed him, running his lips over the artist's jaw and clavicle, biting hard at the junction of his neck and shoulder. Naruto moved lower and their hands were everywhere, setting his skin ablaze, making whatever it was building in his body build even faster.

Sasuke settled up against his back, rocking in a maddening rhythm against him, the slickness of the raven's own erection making the movement smooth and stimulating. Sai cried out again, letting his head fall back to rest against the hard rise of Sasuke's shoulder. Naruto mouthed his was down Sai belly, letting his tongue play against the quivering muscles of the ink nin's torso, blue eyes burning as he looked up into the artist's face. For a mad instant Sai wanted to tell him to stop, that it was too much. The feeling was a roaring, ecstatic, pressure inside him and with it came a kind of cracking as something old and broken and brittle inside his soul tried to stand against the weight and began to crumble. The cold brittle thing, it was important, but Sai could not remember why and then Naruto's mouth was against him. The blond sucked him, drawing his stiffened shaft into the inferno of his mouth and Sai felt his mind give way to the molten heat as he lost all control. Naruto licked him, each stroke of his powerful tongue pulling the artist closer and closer…Sasuke and Naruto moved in unison, their bodies in harmony together and the feeling was so much…far too much… Sai gasped as the pressure broke and his body exploded, pumping something hot and shocking into Naruto's mouth. The brittle thing wanted to shatter and the feeling was so intense, terrifying and wonderful at once, like a storm in his soul. Unperturbed the blond lapped at him and drank the explosion, humming and loving him and Sai could not breathe, the air seemed too hot. He would break, the old, frozen thing inside would shatter and tear him apart and then…and then…

"Sai?" Sasuke asked, his voice sounding softer than it ever had before.

Naruto had ceased his maddening drinking and was looking at him with startled blue eyes suddenly filled with fear. Sai could feel the world shaking and discovered that it was only his own body, still held tight in Sasuke's arms, wracked deeply with sobbing.

"Sai…are you crying?" Naruto whispered, nuzzling his cheek gently with his nose.

"I…am I what?" Sai managed.

"Did it hurt? Are you alright?" Sasuke asked, the barest edge of panic in his voice.

"Shhhh…it's okay. You're okay…" Naruto was saying, holding him close.

Sai brought a shaking hand to his face and felt his heart nearly stop as the fingers came away wet. The tears dripped down his chin and soaked his gloves as he held one hand hard against his eyes to stop the flood. His eyes burned and the feeling…it was still so strong, stronger than anything he had ever felt before. Sai sobbed and tried to relax as Naruto licked away the first tears he could remember shedding as Sasuke quietly worried at his back.

OoOoOoO

"I did not come here to talk to you about sick children, Kiba. I need to know if you are able to live here, with these people, and not end up completely crazy." Granny snapped.

"I WILL go crazy if there is nothing I can do here except sit and heel and be Hinata's pet, Granny!" Kiba hissed.

Granny sighed in the low lamplight and looked away, her ancient face creased into a deep scowl. Kiba leaned back, watching her carefully, and sipping his tea. They sat in one of the many well-guarded meeting rooms of the Hyuuga compound, the small windows allowing only the barest illumination from the setting sun. The crisp, green tatami of the floor was chilly and uncomfortable and Kiba could not help wish for the thick pelts of his own home in the Inuzuka estate. The Hyuugas loved clean lines and Spartan decoration, which made every room both formal and empty, while the Inuzuka's preferred to cover their floors with furs and their walls with heavy silk tapestries. The Inuzukas felt that a room that was too clean invited bad luck and so made a habit of leaving comfy pillows and well rumpled chairs in every space they occupied. Here, the only comfort permissible was in the blankets of a bed that had to be hidden by day and in the arms of Kiba's beloved woman. He sighed and wondered, not for the first time, if he could live as a Hyuuga and not go insane. As far as he could tell, most of them were halfway there anyway. Kiba was a foreigner here and while the silent perfection of the manicured gardens and the empty rooms had become less surprising, he still longed for the familiar culture of his own clan.

"There are few fevers that come so quickly and claim only one victim. The child is sickly, true, but even a weak pup will thrive given the chance. I think this illness may be no illness at all." Granny whispered, her fingernails clicking angrily against the knotted wood of her staff.

"No illness…?" Kiba asked, confused.

"No…poison." Granny whispered, so low that even Akamaru had to raise his ears to hear her.

"Poison? Why poison a helpless child, he isn't even a member of the main house? What could an assassin hope to achieve?" Kiba asked, matching his grandmother's volume.

"What makes you say it was an assassin?" Granny asked, her eyes growing narrow and crafty.

"Well…if it was poison, how else would such a thing happen?" Kiba asked, annoyed with his grandmother's mysteries.

"How would an assassin poison a small boy who has never even left the gates of his family's home? And as you say, why? I believe that the child might have fallen prey to intrigue from within, the Hyuugas are not above such things." Granny spat quietly.

"But…poison a member of their own family?" Kiba gasped, feeling sick.

"He is a member of the branch house. To Hiashi he is expendable and such things have happened before. Hiashi sacrificed his own brother, a twin, for no other reason than to appease a foreign power grown too bold." Granny snarled.

"Why would they do such a thing?" Kiba asked, snarling as well.

"A distraction perhaps, or even an experiment…who can say with these people." Granny huffed, disgusted.

"I have…detected strange smells as well." Kiba admitted.

"Hmmm, have these smells been close, in your things or food?" Granny asked, her sharp teeth glinting angrily in the lamp's flickering light.

"Yes, nothing strong, but always close." Kiba nodded.

"So the boy might not have even been the intended target or they poisoned him in an effort to find something that will affect you. You are an Inuzuka and there is no poison made that we cannot defeat given enough time. Likely you have frustrated their assassins for many weeks, boy. Well done." Granny said, and her smile was both victorious and filled with venom.

"Help him Granny. They are my people now too." Kiba whispered, bowing low and whining high and desperate in his throat. Granny nodded once, sharply.

"I will give you an antidote. It is the best I have, though we may already be too late. If it is possible, I will both save the boy and know for certain that poison is being used. Live, my grandson, stay strong and you will prevail. Hiashi can't live forever and even now he plays at provoking Uzumaki…"

"Naruto? Why?" Kiba hissed, shocked.

"Because he is a proud old fool and he hates anything that he cannot understand. I will send the antidote immediately. If the child lives send Akamaru with the news. If he lives you must be especially cautious, Kiba…" Granny cautioned.

"I will be." Kiba promised.

"Protect yourself and your woman. Hiashi will find his own end soon enough." Granny snarled, showing her teeth.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite their attention and care, Sakura's health takes a drastic turn for the worse as Naruto's heat rages again. Balance has been disrupted and in the wake of the sudden discord, the true savagery of Sai's nature is revealed.

Many scholars have noted the importance of the alpha male or female to the overall well-being of the jinchuuriki pack, but perhaps even then the significance of this position is not emphasized enough by the literature. The jinchuuriki forms its family around the alpha male/female much as one would raise a tent from a sturdy center pole. In line with this same analogy, loss of the alpha male or female almost always results in the total collapse of the pack and, often, the subsequent deaths of all members. Human scholars have historically struggled to understand how such a relatively minor event, the death of a mate, can produce such devastating results. Indeed, many wonder if the connection is merely coincidental. In this and all cases of jinchuuriki behavior, the important consideration is that, despite their appearance, the demon vessels are not human and do not cleave to the norms of human custom. Jinchuuriki have been known to recover from such a catastrophe and go on to reproduce with another mate, but such instances are exceedingly rare. The loss of the alpha mate, regardless of gender, shatters the integrity of the pack in the same way that loss of the jinchuuriki itself might. Even if we, as scholars, stand incredulous of such a phenomenon, history teaches us the truth of this effect. Kage Tenzou, the first vessel for the great Shukaku, won hundreds of battles only to starve himself to death following the passing of his wife. His subordinates, of course, died with him.

-Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons

Neji sat and watched, unable to sleep or train or even read the books Sakura had brought for him several days ago, when she still visited him regularly. Ever since he had kissed Naruto, if anyone could call whatever had happened between them a kiss, the Uzumaki household had given him the space and solitude he had struggled to maintain. His secret purpose was safe, locked tight inside a prison of seclusion and emptiness that was slowly driving him insane. Neji had never been particularly social, preferring his own company rather than the awkward incompetence of others, but this was the first time he had been actively ignored. The others went on, inducting Sai into the strange dance of passion and temperance that was the Uzumaki pack, leaving him to find his own answers. Yuko-san brought his meals and escorted him to the bathes to shower, but the woman seemed to find human speech tiresome and rarely answered his questions with more than a nod. Days had passed and Neji was unsure how many and Naruto still left the sliding doors unlocked as if in open invitation. He could leave. He was not a prisoner. The message could not have been more clear if the jinchuuriki had tattooed the words into his own skin. Neji was free, free to go or to stay or to do nothing at all. He was completely free, except from his own obligations, and the dissonance of it left Neji feeling like screaming. The sentiment was a lie, of course, but apparently he was the only person in the house who thought so. The Hyuuga wondered briefly what would happen if he tore the damned doors off of their maddening, unlocked hinges and crushed them into kindling.

Neji had never failed a mission before, he had never even been accused of being less than excellent at anything, but Anko would have instantly proclaimed his so called marriage to Naruto Uzumaki nothing less than a total failure. The situation was ironic, really, almost funny. No usable information had been gathered and Naruto certainly wasn't pleased in any way that could be considered remotely relevant. He, Neji Hyuuga, had failed and the knowledge was almost enough to make him vomit. The days passed in silence and he wondered why he had ever found conversation to be tiresome. For the first few hours he meditated successfully and almost managed to relax, but the yawning quiet and the knowledge that he might have made a terrible mistake soon disturbed any possibility of martial focus. So Neji sat, and watched the dancing chakra of the others through the walls and tried to quiet the storm in his own spirit.

Sakura had barely moved in the past few days, but Naruto had said that she wasn't really feeling well and so Neji supposed it was to be expected. Sai knelt at her side most days and Neji could not help wonder if the artist was reading to her, or talking or simply just watching her sleep. When Naruto and Sasuke sat against each other on the wide deck outside, Neji found himself trying to guess at what they talked about or if they talked at all. Knowing the two of them, the men might have even been fighting as they sat together in a near embrace. Perhaps when all of them gathered to watch over Sakura they laughed a joked or sat in a tense silence or even wept, there was no way he could know. Neji wanted to know, badly. He wanted to know the small details that the byukugan left absent. He wanted to know what was said and why when Naruto fussed over the girl. He wanted to know whether Sasuke meditated when he stood guard, which was most of the time. Information was missing, critical information that Neji needed so he could understand…so he could… The Hyuuga shook his head and bit his lip to keep the tears at bay. The feeling, the deep seated, agonizing desperation was so unreasonable. He had wanted so much to be left alone and isolated so that he would not have to feel so sick and terrible every time Naruto smiled at him or Sakura laughed. Now, enclosed in this lovely little cage, Neji was safe along with his secrets and the loneliness was almost like torture. Things were happening, important things, far away from his awareness and he was forced to merely watch and wait for something that might never happen. Neji sighed, bathed in the breeze from the damned open doors and focused the byukugan on the burning energies of the others.

Neji had begun to feel recently that the pattern of the others activity had shifted that something important had changed. Naruto paced frequently when he was alone, nervous or perhaps angry, and Sai painted with the frustrated obsession of someone trying to escape their own thoughts. The most worrisome, however, was Sakura. The girl's body was so still, pale green chakra merely a glowing ember kept banked so low that Neji could barely see her. There was something controlled in the terrible restraint of her energy and Neji had the distinct impression that she held her own chi in check, though he could not fathom why. As for Sasuke, the raven haired traitor had not, as far as Neji could tell, slept in days. Sasuke slept little anyway, he had heard Sai say so, but even a ninja needed rest after a while. Neji had the niggling sensation that something was very wrong. If Sakura were more than sick, would Naruto have told him? Neji could not shake the feeling that Sasuke's terrifying insomnia was merely a symptom of something worse, something that had to do with the pink haired beauty and her awful, unnatural stillness. Neji wanted to know, he wanted to know more than he had ever wanted anything in his life, and not because the information would interest Hiashi. He wanted to know because…because if anything happened to Sakura, Naruto would never smile again and Sasuke would be fall into his own darkness and Sai… it hurt to think about.

Suddenly, in what passed for Neji's peripheral vision when using the byukugan, he saw Naruto's energy flare. The scarlet chakra surged in powerful spirals, hot and vast, moving like licking flames around the demon vessel. Neji winced and squinted as the jinchuuriki's chakra glowed and shifted, almost too bright to look at. For a moment, Neji wondered if perhaps the blond was exerting the thrall, but the character of the resonance was different. Sasuke's energy responded to the change, growing brighter, but the perfect, brutal energetic synchrony of the thrall was absent. Whatever was happening, Naruto was not controlling his subordinate so much as he was…heightening the raven's own energy. Neji nearly gasped as a palpable wave of arousal flooded his flesh and his eyes widened. The Hyuuga knew very little about jinchuuriki, but he had at least learned that the vessels sometimes went into a kind of heat.

Before he could contemplate how Naruto had managed to set his nerves tingling with desire without even being in the same room, Neji's attention was pulled to Sakura. The girl's energy had responded to that of her mate as well, but something was terribly wrong. The soft green glow of her chakra was being thwarted, tangled and torn apart, in the purple energy of her unborn baby. Neji gasped. Their chakra…it was incompatible. Suddenly Sakura's long naps and deep meditation and general stillness made sense, too much sense. She had been dampening her chakra, her own fucking lifeforce, in an effort to save her child.

"Kami!" Neji hissed, incredulous.

Such a procedure was no less than a slow form of suicide, at least if it would have been for anyone else, if anyone else could have achieved such control in the first place. A normal ninja, even one with almost perfect discipline, could never have achieved such a low state of energetic sustenance and managed to survive. Sakura, though, was the mate of a jinchuuriki. She had a reserve of energy more vast than Neji could even easily comprehend and so, for a while, she had managed the balance. Now, however, with her husband's demon energy pulling on her own and demanding a response…the balance was gone. The balance was gone and she was dying. Dying right before his eyes…

OoOoOoO

Sai watched, not even blinking, as Sasuke pulled his arm guards on. He looked like a cat fascinated by a fish in a pond and if the artist had had a tail, Sasuke was certain that it would have been twitching. The raven haired ninja blushed, feeling irate. He would never understand what the hell the fascination was with the damn arm covers and why everyone who saw them instantly developed some kind of kink. Naruto had arm guards almost identical to his own and wore them often and no one stared at him like he was a particularly tempting piece of meat. Sakura liked Naruto's arm covers and so did he, but that was in no way the same. Sasuke could practically see Naruto's teeth getting longer as he pulled the steel mesh reinforced stretch silk over his knuckles and up above the elbow. He wasn't used to such rapt attention from anyone except Naruto and now he had both his alpha and Sai staring at him with matching predatory expressions that would have been enough to chase a lesser man out of the room. Sai's eyes were filled with unbidden wanting and a bit of worry, which was gentle enough, but Naruto's blue gaze held only raw lust. Naruto knelt just behind the artist, pausing every now and then to stroke the pale nin's face or squeeze his shoulder, waiting patiently for Sasuke to finish dressing. That in itself was worrisome, Naruto was rarely patient about anything, but the extra flush over the blond's cheeks was even more telling. Truly, he should have known given the time or year. Sasuke practically groaned.

"You're in heat again, aren't you?" He asked snappishly.

"Heat?" Sai asked, confused.

"Hmmm…are you cold?" Naruto replied, licking his lips.

That was answer enough in itself and Sasuke crossed his arms angrily. Perfect. Just exactly what all of them did not need and the timing could not have been any worse. The Jinchuuriki looked a little sheepish, but that didn't stop him from laying a casually possessive hand against Sai's hip. The poor artist gasped and looked like he was about to have a stroke. They hadn't touched intimately since that afternoon in the dojo and Sai still seemed worried about what had happened. As far as Sasuke was concerned, a few tears were fairly minor considering that the artist later told them that he had never even ejaculated before. Nonetheless, Naruto worried and his worrying made Sai worried and soon everyone was uncomfortable. Perhaps it would have been better if Sakura were with them, but she had been very ill for the past few days and certainly not up to anything like trying to familiarize Sai with his own body. Naruto purred heavily and a dark flush spread over Sai's cheeks at the sound.

Sasuke sighed. Every year it was always the same and somehow he always managed to partially forget that the turning of the leaves indicated the beginning of Naruto's heat and the initiation of a sleepless fuckathon that lasted at least three weeks. He was tired already, having found it impossible to sleep with Sakura being so ill. The first time Sasuke had barely noticed the changes associated with Naruto's hormonal issues, except for the fact that the jinchuuriki had been feverish, weak and anorexic. The following year, with the terror of killing his lovers no longer an issue, Naruto had made no effort to resist the effects of the season. If it was possible to die from too little sleep and too much sex, Sasuke was certain he would have succumbed long ago. The jinchuuriki's sexual appetite was tremendous even under normal conditions and in the heat Naruto recovered almost as quickly as he was spent. The blond eyed him, his pupils slitted and dark as the fiery blue gaze roved over Sasuke's body, and the raven felt his flesh respond to the look alone even as the fine hairs on the back of his neck prickled with trepidation. This year the heat would kill him, he was certain of it.

He and Sakura had managed to hold onto relative consciousness last year by taking turns and employing somewhat sneaky methods of getting the blond to release quickly and with very little actual sex. Now with Sakura too ill to even stand and Sai barely able to deal with something as innocuous as a blow job, he would be alone against the sexual onslaught that was Naruto Uzumaki in the fall. Sasuke decided that the almost miraculous healing ability a demon vessel conferred upon its subordinates had a rather distinct evolutionary advantage as otherwise no one would ever survive for more than a single mating season at a time.

"Geez, teme! No need to look so worried!" Naruto exclaimed, running his tongue over the muscular arch of Sai's throat. The ink nin shivered and gasped.

"Leave him alone, you're freaking him out." Sasuke snapped, crossing his arms.

"Hmmm…are you freaked out?" Naruto asked Sai, cupping the ink nin's cheek and turning the man's face to meet his own.

"Um…" The artist managed, eyes wide.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as Sai fumbled, clearly overwhelmed as Naruto licked the artist's lips and engaged him in a deep kiss. Sai's hands clenched into fists and released again, uncertain whether to return the embrace of remain aloof. Naruto pulled the artist close, running his hands boldly over the slender nin's body, his long claws casting shadows against Sai's preternaturally pale skin.

"I thought you said that he needed more time?" Sasuke groused.

"I…I don't know what I need…" Sai panted.

"Maybe he just needs more experience…" The jinchuuriki purred.

"Naruto, put him down. He can't handle you when you're…like this." Sasuke ordered sharply.

With a long sigh, the blond allowed Sai to slide out of his lap, pouting. Sasuke grabbed Sai's shoulder and jerked the ink nin to his feet, impressed despite himself by the smoothness with which Sai responded to the movement and rose to his feet. The artist stood, still flushed and breathing hard, surveying Naruto as one would a rather fascinating animal that may or may not be planning to eat you. The jinchuuriki smiled brightly, a gesture somewhat ruined by the rather prominent fangs, and shrugged in a way that was nearly apologetic…nearly. Perhaps on another day Sasuke could have said something, appealed to Sakura for support or merely pointed out that Sai had broken into actual tears once before, but the cadence of Naruto's breathing and the flush of his face negated any such diplomacy. Sasuke sighed and moved forward only to slide to his knees at Naruto's feet, feeling submissive already just from the scent of the vessel's skin and the way the blond's posture was both active and looming. Naruto's eyes followed him, their movement too directed and serpentine to be human.

"Sai, go check on Neji and make sure he isn't doing anything stupid." Sasuke huffed, resting his hands on Naruto's knees and moving to spread the other's legs.

"But…I know you're tired and Neji never does anything." Sai argued, looking uncertain.

"Go." Sasuke said tightly and the ink nin left the room.

"Sasuke, are you offering yourself to protect him from being overwhelmed?" Naruto whispered, brows drawing together in a worried scowl even as his clawed fingers played over the edge of the raven's jaw.

"Does it matter?" Sasuke breathed, moving to kiss the hardened ridge between the jinchuuriki's legs, mouthing the blond's erection through the thin cotton cloth of his pants.

"Yes." Naruto replied evenly, hooking his fingers under Sasuke's chin and tipping the raven's face up to meet his own.

"I want you…" Sasuke purred.

"And…" Naruto urged, raising an eyebrow.

"…and I am tired." Sasuke confessed, letting his eyes fall closed for just a moment.

"I would never make you do something that you didn't want to, believe it." Naruto hedged.

"Tch, whatever."

"Baka." Naruto said fondly.

"I know what you need and I can handle you. Dobe." Sasuke hissed, mildly annoyed.

"Hmmm, handle me then…" Naruto purred as his pupils expanded to nearly fill his eyes.

Sasuke pushed Naruto's knees wider, moving his mouth boldly over the hardness there even as Naruto wound his deadly fingers into the raven's hair. The jinchuuriki grunted as Sasuke closed his teeth gently over the firm ridge of flesh through the cloth. The fingers in his hair were tight and possessive and Sasuke jerked his head just to test Naruto's grip. The blond rumbled a warning and tightened his hold, moving his other hand down Sasuke's chest to hold his right nipple through the fine mesh of his shirt, fingers firm and hot against the sensitive flesh. Sasuke moaned, suddenly hard and aching. Naruto knew him, knew his body and how to make him feel eager, desperate.

"Teme…I want you…" Naruto growled.

Sasuke said nothing, but moved to undress, sliding the loose pants from his hips and tugging the skin-tight training shirt from his body. The blond followed him, yanking his own clothing away even as he knelt as well. Naruto bracketed Sasuke's hips with his own, running his hands appreciatively over the raven's trembling body. Sasuke gasped, tried to catch his breath as Naruto ran his knuckles over the heated skin of his exposed erection. Biting his lip to keep from moaning again, Sasuke began to tug the arm covers off again, but Naruto stopped him. The blond's hand caressed the exposed curve of his shoulder muscles above the steel and silk, the touch both appreciative and outright sinful.

"Leave them…" Naruto breathed.

"Pervert." Sasuke accused.

The jinchuuriki merely chuckled and moved closer. Suddenly Sasuke was caught in a hot cage of flesh and teeth and burning indigo eyes as Naruto pressed his arm to the small of the raven's back, folding him against his own body. It felt like they drifted slowly, like falling snow, down onto the floor and then Naruto was nudging a knee in between his thighs. The movements were ardent, hurried and a little rough, and Sasuke could feel how much his alpha wanted this, needed this. Naruto moaned above him, face flushed and eyes dark as he lathed his tongue over the quivering planes of Sasuke's chest, sucking his nipples roughly. Sasuke shut his eyes tightly and fought not to scream. The jinchuuriki's skin was so hot, like a fever, the touch of his hands startling and also erotic. Sasuke moaned as Naruto stroked the hardened flesh between his legs, the cool edges of the vessel's claws a strange counterpoint to the heat of his palm. The raven's belly tightened as his alpha ran his long, agile tongue along the underside of the organ, caressing the skin in long, wet strokes.

The touch was almost painful in its intensity, each brush of the blond's tongue like burning coals against his skin. Naruto wanted him wet and aroused and his flesh yielded to the will of the jinchuuriki with the same unquestioning willingness that Gaara's desert moved in the wind. He felt the fluid begin to collect at his tip only to be gathered by Naruto's clever fingers. The raven shuddered as Naruto spread the warm wetness of his own pre-come over their aching bodies, holding their erections together and moving. The rhythm was demanding and the lubricant barely sufficient and Sasuke had to grit his teeth in an effort not to cum. Naruto stroked him, cupped him and reached lower to gently squeeze the heavy weight of his testicles, each touch more thrilling and possessive than the last. Sasuke dug his fingers into the blond's shoulders, nipping his alpha's chin aggressively, relishing the feel of the jinchuuriki's hands against him.

Naruto's teeth teased against the skin just above his arm covers, the razor fangs clicking maddening against the steel mesh of the garments. Sasuke moaned and arched up against Naruto, helpless to resist him, the feel of the jinchuuriki's muscular hips moving between his legs both sensual and terrifying. In moments like these Sasuke could sense the power in Naruto's body and it made him feel fragile and vulnerable, as if Naruto could shatter him with less than a breath. Sasuke was a strong person, a warrior undefeated in battle, and yet the blond could make him feel this way…he was the only one who could make him feel this way.

Naruto produced a vial of oil apparently out of thin air and before Sasuke could breathe or even think, he felt the jinchuuriki's strong fingers pressing against him, massaging his most intimate flesh and seeking entrance. Sasuke yelped, and tried to still the deep, visceral quivering that settled into his flesh at the touch.

"Relax." Naruto snarled and the thrall pounded through Sasuke's nerves.

"Oh…Oh FUCK!" Sasuke roared.

He screamed as pleasure more intense than anything merely physical forged through his flesh and his body became loose and open for Naruto's hand. Sasuke tried to breathe, tried to stop screaming, as the burning pleasure ricocheted through his heated flesh and sent spearing darts deep into his soul. Naruto pressed in with two fingers, purring in approval as Sasuke's body yielded to him like cold honey melting before a flame. The deep, visceral ache of penetration filled Sasuke's flesh and he was full with only the blond's fingers inside him, but the thundering roar of the thrall made the discomfort seem minor and very far away. Naruto stroked him, opening the tender flesh carefully, finding the tingling nerves within and pressing. Sasuke was not sure if he had cum or if he even could, if there even existed a higher peak to reach.

"Oh Kami! Sasuke! You feel so good, so good…" Naruto was murmuring against his throat, voice rough and husky with lust.

Sasuke moaned and gasped as Naruto removed his fingers and pushed in with a single fluid thrust. The jinchuuriki rocked him, holding his hips tight to his own, thrusting deep and hitting Sasuke's prostate again. The tatami was rubbing the skin off of his shoulders and Naruto's teeth were deep in the muscle of his shoulder and Sasuke didn't care. He moaned and trembled and angled his hips so that Naruto could penetrate him more deeply, nipping his alpha's lips until Naruto's mouth was coated with blood. The blood was pretty, like lipstick, only better and Sasuke couldn't concentrate enough to feel guilty about how completely sick that sentiment was. He couldn't do anything, held tight in Naruto's inhumanly powerful grip, but moan and writhe and cum with enough force that he saw stars.

Naruto moved once and then again before tensing and releasing his heat deep into Sasuke's tingling body. The jinchuuriki gasped and shuddered, breathing hard. For a moment only the effort of bringing air into his lungs and exhaling it again dominated Sasuke's thinking. Naruto nuzzled his cheek and Sasuke could feel him hardening again. He groaned. Suddenly, Naruto stilled in the way that only a jinchuuriki can, completely so that not even his pulse seemed to move. The blond, crouched low over him and growled, eyes fixed like blue coals on the door. Sasuke felt disoriented and it wasn't until his own pulse stopped pounding in his ears that the raven was able to hear what Naruto was listening to: the crashing thump echoing through the house.

OoOoOoO

Sai had barely had removed the seal from the door before Neji was barreling out of the room, moving like a hurricane. Sai might have asked why the Hyuuga had such an urgent need to leave the room where he had secluded himself for the better part of a month, but he could not seem to find the words. Sai moved before he could think, his body moving to intercept the other ninja without any kidn of conscious effort. Neji snarled and tried to move around Sai's stance. The artist blocked him, but the Hyuuga easily dodged around him and shot down the hall. Neji was good, very fast and very capable, but he had not managed more than a few feet before the artist turned with a snap on his toes and brought his elbow down hard onto Neji's shoulder. The Hyuuga responded by ducking with the momentum of the blow, only to rise up in a fury of perfectly aimed kicks and flying fists. Sai caught most of the blows, but the other ninja was unbelievably fast. Neji caught Sai with a snapping twist of his first two fingers in the thigh and suddenly the artist's entire leg was numb and unbalanced, the chi to the limb completely blocked. The ink nin ignored the pain, considerable though it was, and used his weight to throw both of them to the floor. Neji spun towards him, fingers held firm in preparation for another devastating strike. The artist dodged and closed quickly, trying to force the mahogany haired ninja into a hold and slamming his face brutally against the wooden post of the hallway.

Neji grunted with the force of the blow, and re-positioned his body to throw Sai over his head and into the unyielding wood of the floor. The air thumped out of Sai's lungs in a single, painful burst, but the ink nin still managed to lock Neji's torso in a bone breaking knee hold. The Hyuuga hissed as Sai broke one of his ribs, the crack of the bone loud and obscene in the cultured grace of Sakura's home. Neji responded by punching Sai soundly in the face. They grappled desperately, nearly matched for strength and for speed, rolling in a snarling tangle on the floor. Sai threaded his arms between Neji's even as the other ninja tried to writhe out of his grasp and jerked. Hissing, Neji relaxed his shoulders and narrowly escaped having the joints dislocated. He thrust with his hips and Sai was suddenly caught beneath Neji's body, fighting hard to protect his throat. Neji however, did not spend the time in an attempt to choke him out and lunged forward. Sai thrust the heel of his hand upward, nearly connecting with the Hyuuga's solar plexus even as Neji rolled to the side. Sai pursued him, crashing hard into the opposing wall.

The splintering crack of breaking wood resounded around them as Sai grabbed Neji by the hair and slammed his skull into the wall. Blood gushed generously from the wound in the Hyuuga's scalp and Sai had to pause to spit blood from his own mouth, but neither man was finished by far. Though badly stunned, the Hyuuga still fought well and kicked Sai smoothly in the side, throwing him to the floor. The artist gasped as the air was forced in a burning rush out of his diaphragm, but moved with the force of the strike to spin a kick hard into Neji's knee. Neji folded his body in a graceful dive and took the hit on the muscle of his thigh, sparing the joint, and lunging forward to engage the ink nin again. Neji brought his knee up and into Sai's chest with a terrible crack of breaking bones even as the artist leapt to avoid the full force of the strike. Sai locked his legs around Neji's knees and twisted, sending the Hyuuga sprawling onto the floor again. They grappled, blood smearing across the polished wood of the floor.

"Let me go!" Neji snarled.

"Where are you going?" Sai asked blankly as he moved to strike the Hyuuga in the throat.

Neji dodged the strike neatly and moved to punch the artist again, but Sai blocked the blow against his forearm. For the next few breaths Sai moved on the defensive, evading Neji's attacks or blocking as the Hyuuga became a veritable tornado of movement. The artist pulled a kunai from his belt and flung the weapon into the Hyuuga's face, his ability to dodge badly hampered by his dead leg. Neji avoided the weapon and tried again to run down the hallway. Sai tripped him hard.

"Sakura! I have to get to her!" Neji screamed, kicking free.

"Sakura is not feeling well. Leave her alone." Sai said, finally sounding almost annoyed.

"No! You don't UNDERSTAND!" Neji shrieked.

"WHAT in the HELL is going on!" Naruto roared, suddenly looming above them in all his naked, and considerably furious, glory.

Sai said nothing, but allowed Neji to wriggle out of his grasp and stand as the blond vessel glared at them with his fangs bared and claws extended. Naruto was still half hard, bleeding sluggishly from where Sasuke had bitten him, and Sai felt his skin flush at the sight. Neji met Naruto's eyes haughtily, using his greater height to put more force behind the look, but Sasuke flung him to his knees in a movement too fast to follow.

"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you…" The raven hissed.

"Sasuke!" Naruto barked and the dark haired killer crossed his arms and moved to the side.

Naruto tipped Neji's chin and forced the Hyuuga to meet his eyes. The muscles in Neji's jaw works as the Hyuuga clenched his teeth and Sai prepared to spring again if he tried to fight them. There was a moment of tension and Neji dropped his eyes under the onslaught of burning blue that was the jinchuuriki's glare. Sasuke made an approving noise behind him, kimono still in rumpled folds around his hips, sharingan blazing angry scarlet. The Hyuuga blushed hotly as Naruto crossed his arms.

"You don't understand…" Neji growled.

"Then explain." Naruto snarled.

"Please. I have to go. Sakura is dying." Neji whispered urgently and Sai felt the very plasma go still in his veins.

OoOoOoO

"You must fix her." Sai stated, staring levelly at the Hokage.

Tsunade sighed and closed the folder of reports she had been half-heartedly reading. The ink nin stood before her dressed in a new and obviously custom made set of the Uzumaki livery, his expression as blank as always. Sasuke and Naruto had reported to her that Sakura's health had continued to fluctuate, that the girl still experienced spells of sickness, but thus far she had always recovered quickly. Now, apparently, the newest member of the Uzumaki household had come to the conclusion that her favorite student was in danger.

"Sai, does Naruto know you are here?" Tsunade asked pointedly.

"No." The ink nin replied blandly.

"And why not?" Tsunade asked.

"Naruto has to stay home and make sure that Sasuke and Neji don't kill each other. I have finished my training for the day and I have the time." Sai reported, his face utterly impassive.

"Fine, but you're wasting it. I have done all that I can for Sakura at this point. Naruto says that she has been doing better…"

"Something has changed." Sai said, moving closer.

"What?"

"I don't know. She won't tell me, but her breathing is different and I can tell that she is in pain. She has been sick this time for much longer and Sasuke won't sleep. She cannot go on like this." Sai said, his nearness bringing an intensity to the words that his intonation did not.

"That is somewhat to be expected. She is trying to dampen her own chakra so that her energy won't reject that of the child's." Tsunade explained.

"She is dying." Sai said.

"Sai, isn't that a bit melodramatic?"

"Her kidneys have ceased to function optimally." He argued.

"How do you know that?" Tsunade asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I can smell it on her, the smell of the creatinine in her blood. I've smelled it since yesterday." Sai replied.

"Surely Naruto can smell it too and I can't imagine that he wouldn't have said something…"

"He smells it, but he doesn't know what it is or what it means. He had never seen someone die that way." Sai replied.

"Sai, Sakura is not dying." Tsunade snapped.

"She is."

"If she were, then the child would have been miscarried by now!" Tsunade argued.

"The child has no knowledge of it's mother or her pain. It is only a life. It wants to live and that is all. It will kill her to survive." Sai said coldly.

"That is a very inappropriate way to talk about a baby!" Tsunade snapped. Sai blinked.

"That's just how life is. Life wants to live." Sai replied shrugging.

"Sai, that opinion might have been forced on you by Danzo, but you of all people should know that it is much more complicated than that." Tsunade practically snarled.

"I know that. Don't misunderstand me, I want our baby, I want to see her and hold her and I want Sakura to be happy, but you have to help her or she will die." Sai stated again.

"The problem is that even if you are right, there isn't anything I can do! The energy just isn't compatible and there is no way anyone has ever found in medicine to make a square peg fit into a round hole!" Tsunade said.

"But, we need her…" Sai argued, sounding very young.

"This is Sakura's body we are talking about and it is her right to say what she is willing to do with it." Tsunade said, rubbing her brow.

"And so, if the only way for Sakura to live was for the baby to die…" Sai said, suddenly looking ashen in the sunlight slanting through Tsunade's office.

"Then Sakura would choose and you and I both know what her choice would be." The Hokage said and tried to ignore the sick feeling that tightened her gut.

OoOoOoO

Sakura focused on the ceiling and counted backwards from a hundred, saying the numbers out loud to help her finish the set, trying to keep her heartbeat slow and steady. She had barely even managed to get half-way through the exercise when another wave of nausea hit, this one accompanied by sharp, deep stabbing pain in the large muscles of her chest and abdomen. She groaned. The child had grown and her chakra had grown with her and the kunoichi had lost the balance between the two again. Sakura wretched hard, clenching her teeth together and resisting the temptation to flare her own chakra as her body jerked with the force of it. The sickness would pass as it had before, with concentration and deep meditation, and everything would be fine. Naruto and Sasuke knew she was sick and they worried, worried more than enough without her screaming, worried too much already. Sakura was tired of seeing the shadows on their faces from nights spent watching her try to relax, helpless to do anything, but wait and dote and wait some more. Her illness was taking a terrible toll on Sasuke and Sakura knew that the raven had not slept for more than three days, ever since the beginning of this most recent bout of nausea. Before, the sickness and pain had only lasted as long as it took for Sakura to master her own energy and meditate, but now…she shut her eyes and tried to breathe. The creaking of the sliding door opening was like broken glass against her nerves, but the girl held onto her silence as a drowning sailor might a sturdy piece of wood. It would pass, it had to pass, she just had to hold on a little longer.

"Sakura…" Sai's soft, flat voice carried through the thick air of the bedroom.

"I'm awake." She replied, hating the way her voice sounded so weak and tired.

The ink nin came and knelt beside her, as smooth and graceful as one of his own brushstrokes, feet barely a whisper on the tatami. Sai's face was a paper-pale blank, but Sakura knew from the set of his shoulders and the position of his body that the artist was deeply upset. The girl extended her hand to him and Sai caught her fingers in a snap, the movement too quick and too eager. He brushed her knuckles reverently against his lips and Sakura sighed at the silken feel of the light kiss.

"Sai are you going to tell me what's wrong or do I have to guess?" Sakura said, managing a smile for him.

"Please…please don't die." The artist whispered.

"I'm not dying. It's just the same as it was before…" Sakura said, rolling her eyes.

"Liar." He hissed.

"Sai…"

"I…I can see it on you. Please…" Sai begged, his slate black eyes full and filled with terror.

"Baby, you are worrying over nothing…" Sakura laughed a little.

"Then get up and fight me, show me that I'm being stupid, just like you used to." He whispered miserably.

"You know I can't…"

"I do know. I know what you are hiding from the others." Sai said.

"I'll be fine." Sakura snarled and tried to believe it.

"When…when I was in Root, one of the girls chose to drink the cyanide offered instead of killing her opponent in the match. They were friends I guess, but that wasn't allowed. She took the cyanide and smiled about it and I thought she was stupid…"

"Root was a very weird, very bad place and it has nothing to do with…"

"That was the choice, you see, to kill or to die yourself because survival was the only thing that mattered to us back then. I watched her. I shouldn't have, but I…she did not die quickly…she kept saying that she was fine…" Sai whispered, the muscles in his jaw working beneath the pale smoothness of his skin.

"Sai, this is nothing at all the same. I'm not dying of poison…"

"Yes! Yes you ARE!" The artist shouted, his usually flat eyes suddenly filled with fear.

Sakura was taken aback by the sheer power of the raw emotion in his words, emotion that she had never before seen from the ink nin, not even in the most dire situations. Sai shivered, staring hard at the floor, trying to regain his control. The girl's eyes were wide with shock, but she managed to keep her hand still in his trembling fingers. She managed to wait and say nothing even though if he had been anyone else she would have been up in a heartbeat, she would have been angry, if only she still had the energy.

"Sakura, I…I'm not sure I can survive without you." He whispered, black eyes startled and miserable.

"Sai, I am not going to die." Sakura whispered, stroking his knuckles with her thumb.

The artist closed his eyes, savoring the touch. He nuzzled her hand, cool lips desperate and hungry as he kissed the captive flesh. Sai had been so different ever since Naruto had engaged him sexually, so much more unstable and yet more alive. Sakura wondered if they had moved to quickly, if Sasuke and Naruto had unlocked a pandora's box of terrifying psychological pain by melting the ink nin's composure. Pain that no one had ever seen and no one could comprehend.

"The child…the child is the poison and it is exactly the same. It's killing you, slowly, cell by cell, bit by bit…" Sai asserted.

"Sai, say that again and you will regret it." Sakura hissed, her voice low and full of menace.

"It's the truth. Your daughter is killing you. Just by growing, just by living, she is ending you…" He whispered.

"Enough!" Sakura snapped and he flinched at her tone.

"Every time you get sick it's worse and then you control it for a while, beat the poison back, but it's inside of you. I have seen this before and I know how it will end, but I just…I can't…I can't…" Sai moved to hold her, gripping her closely, his hands shaking hard.

"It isn't the same. You're getting upset over nothing." Sakura said, her voice hard.

"Am I?" Sai asked her and Sakura bit her lip.

"Honey, you're just scared. Everything will be okay, I'll be okay…" Sakura said, kissing his hair and trying to soothe him.

"Just like the cyanide. You can wall it up and for a while people will hope, but the killer is still there…" Sai said, holding her shoulders so tightly that Sakura knew she would have bruises.

"Sai, you are acting very strange." Sakura said, shoving him a little.

"I know."

"Well stop it!" Sakura snapped.

"I love you." He said, as if it were just the truth, as if he were saying that fire was hot.

"I know, but you can't get so worried. You're even worse than Sasuke!" She sighed.

"Sasuke worries because he sees what is happening to your chakra, he knows how sick you really are, but there is nothing he can do." Sai replied.

Sakura was silent. No matter how much she wanted to deny it, what Sai said was at least partially true. She was very sick, very weak, more than she had ever been in her life. Her chakra was tangled with that of her baby, strands being cut and torn away as the little life struggled not to suffocate within her. Her body was at war, but Sakura had been to war many times and she had always returned. This time would be no different. She would be fine. Their daughter would be fine.

"Sai, come here." Sakura ordered, moving so that he could lie down beside her.

The ink nin obeyed her, moving to curl around her body just as he used to when they were only teammates trying to endure the cold on a long, distant mission. Sakura sighed as the warmth of his flesh eased the pain in her back and belly, moving her hand up and behind to stroke the silken soft strands of his black hair. Sai moved against her, trying to get closer, kissing the nape of her neck in a way that might have been sweet, but was really almost desperate. Sakura lay against him and breathed and enjoyed the affection, trying to think what she could possibly say to him. Sai's hand drifted down from where he held her shoulders to rest against her belly, stroking the roundness there.

"You're right. I'm really sick, but I'm going to get better. I won't die." She whispered.

"If you leave us…we won't survive without you." Sai replied.

"You'll be fine, everything will be fine…" Sakura argued.

"If you were your own doctor, what would you say?" He asked, mouth a hard line against her shoulder.

Sakura swallowed and bit her lip. Truly he could not have asked a more awful question. Sakura shuddered as the first hot tears leaked out from beneath her tightly closed eyelids. Oh Kami, he knew and she had been so careful…how could he know? Sai knew about the small, terrible things that she had chosen to ignore and hide from the others. If she was the surgeon now instead of the patient, she would have said that her vital organs were inflamed and that her muscles were beginning to break down, leaking creatinine into her plasma. She would have used words like 'critical' and 'hypovolemia', words that meant placement in the ICU for any patient given such a sentence. Truthfully, perhaps she wouldn't have said anything, just ordered her anesthesiologist to gas the patient and prepare for emergency C-section. She would have said that it was hopeless and that it was better to save one life than lose both but…it was her baby.

"Sai…don't tell Naruto." She whispered.

"Even if I did, there is nothing he can do. Sasuke knows this also." Sai said and his voice was harsh and ragged.

"You just…you just have to trust me." Sakura said, her hands shaking where she twined her fingers with his against her shoulder.

"I want our baby, I want to hold her and play with her and…" He took a breath and suddenly Sakura had a terrible feeling about this conversation.

"Sai…"

"I want to see what she will be like, but…I won't let her kill you." He whispered and his normally flat voice was cold and too firm.

"Sai…it isn't like that…" She whispered, feeling a deep rush of panic as his hand stilled against her womb.

"It is." The artist said.

"No…please, give me more time…" She begged as his grip on her body tightened like the slow embrace of a python, deadly and inescapable.

"I love you. I love you too much to stand aside and do nothing." Sai said and his voice finally cracked with the emotion.

"I know…I know, but if you hurt her…" Sakura gasped, looking at where his right hand lay against her, still and taught.

His hand, his beautiful, deadly hand was tense and ready. He was ready to strike and in a single swift, perfect blow their baby would be gone. Sakura knew him too well, knew that he was still hesitating and that if she screamed or called for the others that their daughter would be gone before she could even breathe. Sai could do it, too easily, and he thought that he had to.

"I won't hurt her. She won't even feel anything, it will be very fast…" He whispered and Sakura struggled against him, but it was useless.

"Sai, you can't do this…she…she isn't even yours!" Sakura hissed as his hand flexed and formed into a blade, fingers straight and solid.

"I know and that's why I'm the only one who can, Naruto can't bear to choose and Neji won't intervene and Sasuke…Sasuke would never do anything to jeopardize your love. I want you to live…even if you hate me." He said and sobbed and prepared to strike.

"Please Sai, please…I'm begging you!" She whispered.

"You are our home Sakura, you have to know…without you we'll all be lost again and the baby will die anyway…Don't worry, it won't hurt much." He said and she could feel his muscles gathering.

"Sai! If you kill my daughter then I'll never forgive you!" She wailed.

"I don't deserve your forgiveness…"

"You have to give me more time, you have to let me try! What if there was a way and you didn't know! What if you killed her for nothing! For NOTHING!" Sakura shouted, shaking.

"A way…?" The artist faltered, his hand still in the air above her belly.

"Yes! Yes a way! A way for us both to live! There's still a chance…" Sakura argued urgently.

"Tsunade said…" Sai hedged.

"Tsunade doesn't know everything!"

"But…Even if there is and I wait and then it's too late…I can't…I can't…"

"You have to let me try. You have to believe in me, if you don't then…then you never really loved me at all." Sakura whispered urgently and the words were poison in her own ears.

"Sakura…I do love you." Sai moaned, his voice broken.

"Then wait. I'll find a way, I promise." She said, gripping his hand against her shoulder hard and breathing a sigh of relief as he finally relaxed against her spine..

"I'll give you time, but I won't let you die. I won't." He asserted, voice still low and chilly even with the tears, and Sakura knew it was an oath.

"Just give me a little more time, baby, and I'll save us. I promise." Sakura said, shaking, as she kissed Sai's knuckles.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darkness has fallen over clan Uzumaki and all are suffering. Neji finds himself caught between the gravity of Naruto's passion and the terror of Sasuke's insanity before he truly understands the meaning of the thrall and the price of peace he hopes to buy with it.

The extent of the thrall, how much control a male Jinchuuriki can exert over his subordinates is a topic of interest to many, though poorly explored by those learned enough to write intelligent discourse. Philosophers and monks alike hold the thrall to be unnatural, a perversion of man's innate freedom of thought and reason. Indeed, the thrall stands in sharp contrast to much of what we know about the human will and how man relates to the other powers in the universe. Of course the relationship is one of energy and yet, because of this, the Jinchuuriki exerts a certain amount of control over things as fundamental as a subordinate's bodily homeostasis. A subordinate's blood and breath and semen follow the will of his alpha, at least to a certain extent, and so scholars wonder how far the influence penetrates. A Jinchuuriki can command his subordinates to ejaculate, to faint and to breathe. Can, scholars wonder, an alpha also command his subordinates to starve? To dream? To believe in something they otherwise would not? Would a subordinate, at his alpha's command, simply die? No one knows the answer to these questions, but perhaps the most pertinent point to make is that no one knows because such a thing has never happened. In all the thousands of years since man first learned to meld himself with the elemental demons of the world and create the Jinchuuriki, never once has an alpha commanded such a thing of his pack. I believe it is safe, then, to assume that commanding hurt or abuse is fundamentally counter to the nature of the Jinchuuriki, that the power of the creature's own will does not extend to the limits of depravity that man's often does.

-Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons

The hallways were dark and silent except for Naruto's own footsteps and even though the air was cool, his skin burned uncomfortably, hot with arousal unspent. He was in pain, his skin too sensitive against the silk of his clothing and his head pounding with dull agony in time to his own heartbeat. Naruto wondered if the ghosts of the Uchiha clan were watching and the thought sent a shiver up his spine even though Sasuke had told him a thousand times that being afraid of ghosts was ridiculous. The blond began humming, if just for the sake of hearing something other than his own pulse, the melody random and a bit tragic. He did not really know any songs, Sakura had always chosen their music before, she had always been the one to know the most about music. Naruto had never learned anything about music or art or cooking, he had barely managed to survive living on his own, and Sasuke's parents had considered anything unrelated to ninjitsu to be wholly unimportant. Sakura had come from different people and she knew all the things that he and Sasuke had never learned, things about how to make a life, how to make a home. Without her, their home was dark and cold and barely more than simple shelter, a decrepit shell of what it was before. Naruto never realized how much he would miss feeling like he belonged in a place. He groaned and squinted his eyes, trying to force his headache back into something manageable through sheer force of will. Sakura would have said something about the futility of that, but she was too sick to say anything much at all. Soon, if nothing changed, she would be gone and then no one would care either way about his head or anything else.

"Oh, Fox. What can I do?" Naruto asked silently into the vastness of his own mind.

"Love her. Love is never wrong." The Fox replied softly.

"Love isn't enough, dammit! I have SAVE her! We have to save her!" Naruto moaned.

"It is not within our power." The demon rumbled sadly.

"But…you are the Kyuubi! You're old! Really old, you must know a way!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I am old kit, but some problems are eternal. I cannot halt winter and I cannot thwart death, the will of gods greater than I govern these things." The Fox sighed.

"Do you think Sasuke will find a way to save her and our child?" Naruto asked.

"Perhaps." The Kyuubi said and Naruto knew that the demon was trying to be tactful.

"Sasuke is smart, really smart, we'll figure it out. It's not like this hasn't happened before, right?" Naruto said, with a strained little laugh.

"No, it did happen once before." Kyuubi replied, sounding uncertain.

"And?"

"The past does not matter, kit."

"I want to know, maybe it will help…" Naruto argued.

"You should spend what time you have left with your mate and subordinates, these moments are more precious than you might realize now..." The Fox argued.

"You aren't helping at all! What happened! Tell me, dammit! Now!" Naruto shouted, hating how young and frustrated he sounded.

"They died. My vessel and all who belonged to him died as one."

"All of them, but…How?" Naruto asked, horrified.

"An incredible will is required to survive the death of a mate, a strength beyond what any of my vessels has achieved. Even your mother did not possess such a will…"

"My mother…I don't understand, my own mother wasn't this sick, right? Why is this even happening?" Naruto demanded, close to real tears.

"There is something very unique about our child and the energy does not align with Sakura's." The Fox explained.

"Unique… why?"

"I do not know, kit."

"Well, you must know something! Didn't your other vessels do something? Didn't they even try?" Naruto demanded.

"Yes, kit. Of course they tried. Sometimes there is no victory, despite how much we might want it."

The Demon said gently, speaking as one would to an angry toddler.

"No! I don't believe it! I won't!" Naruto shouted.

"Try to understand! Time is very precious to mortal things and you are wasting yours talking to me about things that neither of us can change!" The Fox snapped, angry.

"She trusts me! She trusts me to help her!" Naruto growled.

"She is wise enough to see the limits that you cannot. You and I can both feel that she is not afraid."

"I know that, but…I…I AM afraid! Please, please…I have no one else to ask and I can't just…watch." Naruto whispered.

"You must, you must watch her now, or you may lose the chance to see her again."

"No."

"Death is not as dark as you humans seem to think, the only true pain comes from leaving the ones you love, from lost chances…" The Kyuubi urged.

"I…I'm not ready." Naruto whispered, panicked.

"No one ever is."

"It hurts, in my body, hurts to be without her…"

"Yes, you are bonded to her. It will be difficult for you to survive when she dies."

"No! No one is going to die! I can't believe you are saying this!"

"Perhaps you may survive her passing. That is the only way we can win in this, if you can find the strength to let her go. If you can live through the pain, if you can live without her and save your subordinates…" The Kistune whispered, voice suddenly intense.

"But I…I don't know how to live without her! I don't remember how to breathe without her inside me!" Naruto sobbed.

"You are stronger than the others. You are my strongest vessel. You can save them." The Fox said, somewhat proudly.

"I'm not strong without her!"

"I know, kit, but you must try. She is very close to leaving us…" Kyuubi rumbled softly.

"I can't, Fox, I can't! It…It hurts inside…"

"My poor kit, I know it will be painful, but you must try or all our lovers will die. Sasuke will die, Neji will die and Sai will be left alone again. You know what hell it is to me alone…" the Fox urged.

"I…I know, but…" Naruto cried, the tears spilling down his face.

"If it helps you, hold onto your hope." The Kitsune offered.

"I will! I won't give up! Not ever! You'll see, you stupid fox! You'll see!" Naruto shrieked even as the Demon turned away and within.

The tears were hot and painful on his face and the jinchuuriki scrubbed the moisture away with a frustrated hiss. The Fox may not know what to do, but Sasuke would figure it out. Sasuke was a genius. No one was going to die, he would not allow it, everything would be alright in the end and then he would tell the stupid demon just how wrong he was. Sakura would live, she had to, or he would not know how to keep going… Naruto bit his lip and pushed the thought away. There was no reason to even examine the possibility that Sakura could die, nothing to be gained from it. If there was a way, they would find it and losing hope now was just dumb. Even the damn Kitsune had agreed with him about that. The jinchuuriki paused and leaned against the wall, taking a moment to let the pain pass over him along with the last of his tears. Tears were stupid and Sasuke hated it when he cried. He had wanted to try and talk to his subordinate, but Naruto decided to wait just a moment so his eyes would not look so red. Lately everything had become a matter of waiting. They were waiting to see, waiting to act, waiting to talk or to fight or to even breathe, waiting for the goddamn heat to pass enough to see straight. Everyone was trapped like lake fish frozen in an early winter, waiting to move again, waiting to see if they ever even would.

Naruto grunted and began walking again. Once he would have tried to hide it, the little noises that indicated how uncomfortable he was, but the jinchuuriki could have probably screamed if he wanted. No one was paying enough attention to care, if any of them noticed at all. The house was practically a tomb, maybe that was all it had ever been meant to be, and it was hard not to imagine Sasuke's ancestors scowling at him form every shadow. Sasuke himself was in the library, manically searching for an answer in texts that they should not even have and Sakura…The jinchuuriki swallowed hard and fought the tears back once again. Neji had been right. The Hyuuga had seen it, before any of them, and he had wanted so much to ignore him. Maybe if he had just seen the problem sooner, maybe that would have changed something. He had wanted so much to believe Sakura's words and smiles, but in the end the truth was still the truth. Sai had known too, everyone had known apparently, but Naruto was the only one without anything to offer and so they had said nothing. He might have been angry, but Sasuke did not need to say that he saw her chakra failing in words to make the truth more than plain.

Naruto had known, with certainty, that something was terribly wrong as soon as the raven had turned his shargingan onto their wife. His face, it would be burned into Naruto's memory forever, an expression of such deep and childlike incredulity that Naruto had felt his heart go still in his chest. Sai had gone to Tsunade, but the matter of Sakura's life and that of their child's was out of the Hokage's capability. Tsunade had visited yesterday, given Sakura fluids and drugs and messed around with her chakra, but the girl was still fading away. If not for him and the Fox, the Hokage said grimly, she would have died weeks ago. Naruto sent a toad to Gaara, hoping desperately that the Sand Kage might know something or at least be able to send them someone who did, but Gaara had responded almost immediately with his apologies. Chakra, he said, cannot be forced.

They had come to an impass and all of them were simply left to do what they could, knowing that the chance was small, knowing that they were alone. Sai had not moved from her side in days, silently watchful and comforting in a way that was both frightening and powerful. He lay beside her and Naruto was grateful because the artist had the strength to lay with her as she died without weeping or screaming or…The jinchuuriki shut his eyes tightly and took a breath. Sakura did not need to see him so afraid and he shuddered just thinking about what she would say if she saw Sasuke. The raven was obsessed with his research, never pausing for sleep or food or anything except for the extra strong green tea he forced the staff to bring him despite Naruto's orders. Sasuke thought that there might be some kind of jutsu that could help her, hidden among the notes he had taken in Orochimaru's laboratories, research that Naruto could barely read without being sick. Orochimaru might have been a monster, Sasuke growled, but he knew things that no one else had ever learned. Naruto believed him if for no other reason than that no one had ever done the things that Sasuke's master had. So his precious subordinate bathed in the evil, trying to find something in it that would bring some good and Naruto let him because…because it was the only hope they had.

So Naruto paced and worried and tripped over the staff bringing Sasuke more of his goddamned tea. Sakura smiled at him during the moments when she was conscious and told him not to worry, lied to his face and he could not even bear to be angry. Naruto was not a genius or a doctor and so all he could do was re-tuck her blankets and hold Sai in his arms when the ink nin seemed a little too silent or still. No one had bothered to re-set the justsu locking Neji's door and in the days intervening the Hyuuga had somehow taken over the functional governance of his household. He ordered food for Sai, paid the staff extra for their silence and made sure all the small, stupid things essential to a home still happened. Bills were paid, dishes were washed, Sakura's garden was weeded and no one knew that their universe was quietly falling apart. Sasuke would have been furious if he knew that Neji had invaded so far into his domain, but the raven barely noticed the difference between night and day. He was wasting away just as surely as Sakura was.

Naruto choked and faltered, pressing his palms hard to his eyes, trying to stop the flood of searing tears threatening to spill down his face once more. Tears did not help anyone. There was time, not much, but still enough time to try to find a way to save their woman. Naruto clenched his fists and tried to breathe around the deep, terrible agony in his chest. They had to try and the others needed him to remain strong, solid and sane. The Fox had said that he was the strongest, after all. Sakura had sounded so certain, so sure that they would find a way and one of the greatest geniuses Konoha had ever spawned was feverishly searching for it. He had no right to feel so fragile, so hopeless, when everyone else was doing everything that they could. For now he had to stay strong, had to move forward and keep hope. So many times before he had only had hope and everything had worked out, but Naruto had never had quite so much to lose before.

Naruto mastered his emotions and turned towards the library, determined to make sure that Sasuke ate something, or at least make sure he wasn't just sitting in there and staring at the wall. Turning the corner he met Neji walking down the hallway, a determined expression on his face, carrying a heavy armload of scrolls. The Hyuuga's face had healed almost completely from his fight with Sai even though the artist was still badly bruised and breathing shallowly around his fractured ribs. Naruto thought it was peculiar, that one should heal so much faster than the other, but Neji was a master of somatic chakra after all and the jinchuuriki had no idea how far the Hyuuga techniques could go. Naruto raised an eyebrow and Neji paused, looking both guilty and a bit annoyed.

"For Sasuke." Neji replied in a tight whisper.

"Leave him alone. He isn't…stable right now." Naruto warned, reaching to take the scrolls from the Hyuuga.

"Let me try. These scrolls may all have relevant information and I know he is still angry about…about before and…"

"Neji, please trust me on this. Sasuke is not the type of person to be reasonable when he is upset, believe it." Naruto said, smiling a little.

"I just want…"

"Let me deal with Sasuke. You've been hurt enough as it is." Naruto sighed sadly, running his fingers along the side of Neji's beautiful, magically un-bruised face.

Neji, shivered a bit at the touch and looked away, lips a tight line except at the corner where his mouth was still a bit swollen. The Hyuuga might have been fighting towards an objective, but Sai always fought as if the match were to the death. The artist fought like a cornered dog, he simply did not understand anything else and Naruto was frankly relieved that the scuffle had not been worse. Regardless, Neji should never have been able to heal so quickly in only a few days. Maybe he had not been hurt as severely as Naruto thought, maybe the blood had mostly been Sai's that day. Not that it mattered. Mostly healed with only the ghosts of bruises, Neji was terribly self-conscious about even the faintest mark and Naruto was certain that his confidence had been badly injured. Naruto stroked the Hyuuga's face, fingers searching out the small imperfections left by Sai's capable fists, wondering how someone could feel so guilty about a few little hits. Neji clenched his jaw, tolerating the jinchuuriki's probing fingers grudgingly. Of course the artist had been mauled as well, having a terrible black eye and several broken bones, veritably covered in contusions. Sai still looked mangled, and his lip still split open when he smiled, but he seemed to wear his wounds with more pride. Neji always seemed so embarrassed, so uncomfortable, and there was no reason when he was so gorgeous. No reason at all…Naruto knew he should stop touching him, but the Hyuuga's skin was so nice, so cool against his fingers.

Naruto ran his hand lower, brushing his fingers along Neji's quivering lips, wondering, wondering how the tender skin there would feel against his own. Neji's mouth was a bit leaner than Sasuke's, but just as elegant and firm, and the blond scowled a little as he stroked the perfect line of Neji's face. Sai had not spared him a single blow and his jaw had been broken, Naruto was almost positive, but the bones under his hand were smooth and whole. The Hyuuga colored and kept his eyes glued to the floor, embarrassed. By Kami he was beautiful, nothing like the others, but beautiful nonetheless and the jinchuuriki felt his blood stir. On a whim, Naruto slipped the edge of his thumb into Neji's mouth, resting it just inside the other ninja's lips. Neji gasped, moving with a jerk to look at him and the effect was enough to eclipse everything else from the vessel's mind. Large silver eyes gazed up at him through a tempting curtain of sepia lashes, his hair falling long and luscious around the perfect oval of his face. He was too lovely and fine not to be touched and how Naruto wanted to touch more, wanted to touch him everywhere. He had been dumb before, stupid to spurn such a striking gift, especially when he knew how to make it feel good. The Hyuuga would look so gorgeous pressed against Sai's paper-pale beauty, trapped in Sasuke's unearthly grace, and if they were wrapped in Sakura's hair…Kami. Naruto groaned a little just imagining it. The Hyuuga swallowed jerkily, a hard blush coloring his cheeks as the jinchuuriki gazed upon him.

He had admired Neji, always watched when the Hyuuga genius trained and Naruto had always told himself that it was to learn, to improve his own technique. He had once felt like he might be content to watch the brunette do just about anything, but of course watching alone would never be good enough. The jinchuuriki wanted to press him into the dusky orange of his bedding, to explore the heat of his body and to map every strand of that silky hair onto his pillows. Neji was tall and Naruto knew that his height would make it easier for him to take the Hyuuga sitting up, that with every thrust he'd be able to get so deep. A flicker of fear crossed Neji's face as Naruto's claws grew long where they rested against his exposed throat and that was lovely too. Naruto breathed deep and almost moaned as Neji's scent filled his senses. He smelled like aged clove-oil and metal, of things fine and violent, sharp and intoxicating.

"It's the heat isn't it?" Neji asked, voice calm despite the fact that Naruto was practically on top of him.

He had a rich, deep voice and Naruto wondered what he would sound like when he screamed…when he came. For a brief, mad, moment the blond desperately wanted Neji to fight him again. He wanted Neji to try to kiss him as he had before so that he would have an excuse to keep touching him, so that he could respond as he should have the first time. He should have taken him then, met the Hyuuga's foolish challenge and branded himself onto every inch of that beautiful, creamy flesh. Sasuke was right. Neji was supposed to be his anyway and Naruto longed to wrap that long, mahogany hair around his wrist and hold him tight against his own flesh. The Hyuuga's eyes widened as Naruto met his lips, savoring the softness of the flesh, letting his tongue play roughly across Neji's mouth. The jinchuuriki expected aggression, but the silver-eyed nin retreated instead, acting tentative, a bit afraid, and that pleased him even more. A challenge was intoxicating, but the submission in Neji's body practically made him ache. The Hyuuga pulled his lips back, startled, but Naruto pursued him. The kiss was not gentle and Naruto forced Neji's jaw open with his fingers, drinking in the small sound of pain along with the Hyuuga's breath. He tasted just the way he smelled, spicy and metallic, exquisite. Neji was shaking against his hand, the bells on the bindings of his scrolls tinkling. Naruto moved a hand behind the other ninja's skull, pulling his head down against his own. Naruto engaged his tongue, nipping Neji's lower lip aggressively, feeling warm and a little drunk on the sensation alone. The Hyuuga winced as Naruto's tongue moved over one of the cuts Sai's fist had left on his mouth and a small spark of reason returned to the jinchuuriki's brain.

Suddenly he was very much aware of how ragged Neji's breathing had become, how the brunette was not responding, but merely letting Naruto move into his mouth. Kami. He could not do this. Neji obviously did not want this and the fact that he could even think about sex with Sakura was so ill was a sure indication that there was something massively wrong with him. With a deep breath and enough physical effort to make his fingers shake, Naruto released the Hyuuga genius. Moving his thumbs in apologetic strokes against the place where he had forced Neji's mouth, Naruto tried to summon the will to remove his hands from the man's skin entirely. He needed to apologize, he need to stop touching him. The Hyuuga took a breath and looked away. He would have new bruises in the joints of his jaw to match the ones Sai had left and the thought made Naruto feel like vomiting. Everything was so fucked up.

"Naruto I…I'm so sorry…" Neji said after a while.

"Don't…Don't you dare apologize to me." Naruto laughed tightly, looking away and finally dropping his traitorous hand, feeling sick.

"I…I don't know what else I can do." Neji replied, his voice low and tight.

"Nothing. You aren't responsible and…You don't have to do anything." Naruto replied heavily, blushing in shame and running his hands roughly over his face.

"Maybe I want to do something." Neji said, scowling.

"I'm sorry you had to be involved at all." Naruto said tersely.

"I can't just stand back and…and watch this happen!" Neji snapped, angry.

"This isn't your problem." Naruto said, crossing his arms.

"Of course it is! I'm stuck here aren't I, or did you forget?" Neji hissed tartly.

"I don't see anyone stopping you from just going. Surely a genius like you can figure out how to use the front door!" Naruto snapped, temper warming at the Hyuuga's tone.

"It isn't that simple. Not that you would understand anyway." Neji huffed haughtily.

"No one will understand ANYTHING if you don't bother to explain!" Naruto snarled, turning to face the Hyuuga.

"I can't just leave and break my marriage contract to you! I don't have the freedom to do that. It isn't how things work. You should have Sasuke explain it to you." Neji hissed darkly.

"I don't think anyone here is in any condition right now to try to stop you. Do you honestly think I have any interest in being with somebody who hates me?" The jinchuuriki asked bitterly.

"I don't hate you."

"But you don't like me either."

"It doesn't matter! What I want doesn't matter anyway. I can't leave now! Not with everything that's happening!" Neji argued.

"Why? You never seemed interested before." Naruto sneered.

"It's different now."

"Why?"

"Sakura is dying and I OWE her my life!" Neji growled.

"You barely know her." Naruto accused, his tone much nastier than he had intended. Neji scowled.

"Maybe I want to." He replied.

"You've been given plenty of opportunities, plenty of chances to get to know all of us and even getting you to come OUT is like… like…I don't know! I suppose we're just too common for you…." Naruto countered.

"That isn't it at ALL!" Neji shouted, shocked.

"Then WHAT IS IT?" Naruto exploded, feeling his temper finally break.

Naruto watched the Hyuuga, watched his silver eyes harden and his expression close. Watching Neji retreat again made him angry in a way that he had not allowed himself to feel in days. Naruto exhaled through his nose and before he could stop it the sound turned into a snarl. He was so tired of it, so tired of being shut out. No one thought that he needed to know anything or they just expected him to fucking guess. No one told him what was really happening, what they were really thinking. Neji was miserable, no matter what anyone did and he just wanted to know why. What was so wrong with that?

"There isn't anything, I just prefer to have my space. Nothing is wrong." Neji lied, looking away.

"Look, I'm sick of the secrets and the bullshit, so why don't you just tell me the TRUTH! I'm NEVER gonna guess what in the HELL you're thinking!" Naruto growled.

"You don't need to try and…"

"I NEED to know what your intentions are, dammit! NOW!" Naruto snarled.

"I intend to help." The Hyuuga replied sullenly.

"Right and after that?" Naruto pressed sarcastically.

"What do you mean 'after that'? That's all that matters!" Neji scowled, looking away.

"I'm asking if you EVER intend to be a PART of this family! I am ASKING you what the HELL are you DOING here!" Naruto shouted.

"I am here to make peace! You and I BOTH know that. The law is clear and the contract was formal…"

"I don't care about paper, Neji. I guess Sasuke might, but he is busy driving himself crazy, so there BETTER be something more to it!" Naruto shouted harshly.

"I'm your friend and even if I weren't I would never just let Sakura die!" Neji countered.

"Are you sure? If we die, you'd be free to go back home. You'd be free again…" Naruto mocked darkly, deeply angry and not completely sure why.

"You don't know ANYTHING! I'll never be free, NEVER! It doesn't WORK that way!" Neji exploded.

"It's your choice." Naruto hissed.

"FUCK YOU! I don't HAVE any choices! I can leave Konoha and be hunted down like a DOG by my OWN clan or I can stay and maybe…maybe...I CAN'T LOSE HER! You don't HAVE to UNDERSTAND!" He shrieked.

"Yes, Neji, I DO!" Naruto roared, he had never seen the Hyuuga so angry.

"You keep offering me freedom, but it's a LIE! You just don't GET IT! No matter where I go or what I do, if I'm not your slave I'll just be someone else's! You want me to go home, just so THEY CAN SELL ME TO SOMEONE ELSE!?" Neji cried, dropping the scrolls with a resounding crash.

"Maybe you would PREFER someone ELSE!" Naruto shouted.

"You want me to just ignore the fact that Sakura is DYING! If she dies I just can't…I CAN'T I…I CAN'T LOSE HER!" Neji screamed, slamming his fist into the wall.

"WHY?! WHY do you even CARE!"

"She's one of the only people, EVER, who even BOTHERED to treat me LIKE A HUMAN BEING!" Neji railed.

"She…what?!" Naruto asked eyes wide with shock.

"No one ever CARES what I think. No one even BOTHERS to ask what I WANT except for her and…and…you. No one has even asked ME before and I…I…I don't KNOW what I WANT!" Neji choked, furious.

"Neji…I'm sorry." Naruto breathed.

"Look, I know I have kept my distance, but it was because I thought it would be the BEST thing to do. I didn't want to…interfere and…well…it doesn't matter anyway! I OWE you, IMARRIEDYOU for fuck's sake!" Neji snarled.

"Oh…I…I don't know what to say." Naruto admitted.

"Well, I don't know what ELSE I can say! Moron!" Neji spat, looking away.

The Hyuuga was breathing hard, his normally impassive face red and twisted with hurt, hands clenched into tight fists at his sides. The blond sighed, suddenly feeling miserable, the anger snuffed out like a candle in the rain. The hallway was silent again and the lack of sound was both oppressive and filled with pain. Naruto stood quietly and watched him for a moment, eyes unmoving, unsure what else he could say or if he should say anything at all. Talking seemed inappropriate and awkward when Neji was standing there with his emotions raw and naked before him, vulnerable in a way that he had never been before. Naruto pressed his lips together and finally looked away from Neji's face down the yawning maw of the hallway, wondering what in the hell he was supposed to do. The Hyuuga covered his face with his forearm, trying to regain his composure, but Naruto could still see the tears streaming down his cheeks to drip off his chin. The scrolls lay in a cluttered heap on the floor, like damning evidence of his own ineptitude. Kami, he was stupid! Naruto bit his lip and wished that he had never said anything at all. The blond sighed and silently bent to retrieve the documents, trying to give Neji space if he needed it.

The Hyuuga took a single, ragged breath, wiped angrily at the tears, and joined him on his knees, moving with a jerky kind of efficiency to retrieve the scrolls that had rolled away during the argument. They shuffled about for a few painful moments while Neji cried and Naruto cursed himself in his own head. Time, heartbeats, passed and tears were still running down the Hyuuga's cheeks. It was so strange and terrible to see, so at odds with the man's personality, that Naruto felt his belly knot up into a hard ball of aching guilt. He had never seen Neji Hyuuga cry before, not like this, not like he had been saving the sentiment up for an entire lifetime. Still, the demon vessel could believe that there might be pain and fire beneath the frozen elegance of Neji's usual countenance. The silver eyed nin was usually so cold, so controlled, but Naruto had seen the true breadth of the Hyuuga's emotions once before. Neji had nearly killed Hinata for a backwards kind of insult that had singed a nerve no one even knew was raw. Unlike Sai, Neji felt things deeply, but consciously chose to hide his feelings from everyone, including himself. Without really thinking, the jinchuuriki moved close on his hands and knees, his face only a breath away from Neji's. The vessel wanted to be close, he wanted to soothe and help and do…do something to make it better. Neji met his eyes angrily, but his expression softened when he saw that Naruto had no intention of arguing further.

Maybe it was easier this way, easier to communicate when one could just move and react and respond instead of trying to find the right thing to say. Neji looked at him, silver eyes much more expressive than Naruto had once thought, filled with too many emotions. He breathed, letting his breath mingle with the Hyuuga's, testing the other ninja's acceptance of his presence in the space. The brunette sobbed a little, but made no move to pull away, his body language no longer tight and defensive. He was so hard to read and Naruto knew that the smart thing to do would be to just stand up and walk away and try to forget that anything had happened, but he stayed nonetheless. Neji's eyes were still spilling water to mix with the blood in the floor boards and Naruto was so tired of watching people he cared about in pain, helpless to do anything.

Carefully, fully aware that he may be pushing too far, Naruto let his forehead rest against Neji's, the cool steel of the Hyuuga's forehead protector a shock to his fevered skin. It was a simple touch, something even friends could do, and the jinchuuriki prayed the contact would offer what comfort it could. Touch was better, better than words anyway, and Naruto felt a shiver race over his spine when Neji tilted his face up against him. Without thinking, the vessel purred a little, a low, soothing sound that moved up from the lowest part of his chest and seemed to loosen the tightness there. All the stress and pain and uncertainty seemed to finally move out of his body, less for being shared. Neji sighed and sobbed silently, the water pouring down his face even more than it had been before. Sakura always said tears were good, tears were the body's release, and so Naruto simply stayed that way for a few heartbeats and let Neji cry. The Hyuuga moved closer, nuzzling him awkwardly with his nose and Naruto leaned a little more of his weight into the strange caress. There was affection in the touch and a bit of lust as well, but mostly it was just the simple animal comfort of skin against skin when life was too cold and harsh to bear alone. Naruto bent and lapped the salty tears from his friend's face, running his tongue in long, gentle strokes across the silver-eyes genius's flushed skin. Neji moaned softly as Naruto licked him, but accepted the strange affection without pulling away.

It was not the first time Naruto had done this with Neji, but the action seemed to mean more than it had when they were children. They were adults and a touch now had consequences. Before when the blond had found the Hyuuga injured following a battle, he had been too shocked to even really comprehend anything other than the fear. Neji's heart had been so still that day and something raw, something close to the Fox, had bubbled up from inside the blond in response. He had licked the blood away from Neji's temple and the other boy had woken at the touch. At the time, Naruto had been embarrassed and Neji had been confused and neither of them had said anything to anyone else about it. The action came from instinct, from a deeper and more truthful place than human language ever could and now it just felt...right. Naruto stood slowly, moving to take the Hyuuga by the wrist and surprised when Neji moved willingly up and into his arms. They stayed that way for a while, the closeness awkward and strange. After what seemed like a tense eternity, Neji moved to rest his cheek against Naruto's shoulder and let out a long shuddering breath.

"Is this…is this okay?" Naruto asked softly.

"I don't know." Neji replied in a whisper.

"Do you like this?" Naruto asked, running his hand down Neji's spine.

"I think so." Neji replied with a nervous chuckle.

"Sorry. I didn't know about…well I guess…I'm dumb sometimes." Naruto whispered, tightening the embrace.

"Yeah, you are." Neji sniffed haughtily, smiling against Naruto's skin.

"Not that you ever bother to tell anyone what's going on in your head." Naruto snorted.

"No one has ever wanted to know before."

"You don't hate me?" Naruto asked.

"Do you think I let people I hate lick me?"

"Um…well…"

"Never mind. I just…want everything to be okay." Neji whispered with a long sigh.

"Yeah." Naruto agreed.

"How is she?" Neji asked suddenly, straightening a bit.

"Still with us. I'd know if…if…" Naruto whispered grimly.

"…If she died." Neji finished, moving out of Naruto's grasp to pick up the scrolls.

"I would know." The jinchuuriki repeated.

"You share your chakra with her." Neji stated, as though it were a fact he already knew.

"Yeah, I know that seems odd, I guess, but it's kinda…what I do." Naruto smiled awkwardly, blushing.

"I figured. You aren't human after all."

"Uh…well, I'm not not human though, you know? I'm at least part human, or I guess I was…" Naruto hedged, laughing nervously.

"You could have fooled me." Neji replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, right, that. Well, I'm sorry I touched you like that. It was weird. It's my fault." Naruto sighed turning away.

"It's...okay. Um…I mean it wasn't like…Anyway, what about the scrolls?" Neji asked, blushing hard.

"Oh yeah! Well, I guess we can…just…Come on, we'll go together." Naruto huffed finally, turning towards the library.

OoOoOoO

Itachi sat beside him, reading too quickly out of the book Sasuke had just discarded as useless and it made him wonder if maybe there was something in it that he had missed. His brother had always been able to read so fast, faster than any other person Sasuke had ever met, but he always absorbed everything he read completely. Maybe he had missed something. Sasuke flipped back through his notes and checked the formulas again. The elder Uchiha yawned languidly and flipped another page, nodding a bit to himself. Sasuke ground his teeth. Itachi was dead, he had killed him and so his brother was not really there at all. With a long breath, Sasuke tried to focus his swimming vision and ignore the apparition.

"You're too stupid to figure this out, baby brother." Itachi said, smiling affectionately.

"Shut up. You aren't real." Sasuke whispered.

"Stupid, stupid baby. You've cut yourself on the swords again." Itachi crooned.

Sasuke looked at his hands and indeed they were bleeding, the pain sharp and also aching. He needed to be more careful, the swords were heavy after all and he should not get any more blood onto his notes. The equations were difficult, but he had checked them three times, and they were accurate. He could use them if he just managed to keep the blood off the page.

"What a mess. Father will be angry." Itachi snapped, raising one of his perfect slender eyebrows in irritation.

"You're dead." Sasuke snapped.

"Maybe if you had loved me enough I wouldn't be. Everyone you love dies, don't they? So sad, but then again it is your fault. Don't you wish I were here to help you? Make all the ugly numbers go away…" Itachi purred, surveying him with his bloody, almond shaped eyes.

"You've never helped me." Sasuke whispered.

"Silly, of course I did. I killed all your enemies…"

"You killed our parents."

"I had to, Otouto. It made us stronger." Itachi said with an apologetic little pout, moving closer, his long tail of ebony hair spilling over his shoulder.

"I hate you." Sasuke snarled.

"You love me. That's why I'm dead, isn't it? You end up killing everyone you love. Silly boy." Itachi sighed, smiling.

"That's not true. I'm going to save them." Sasuke hissed earnestly.

"You're not smart enough." Itachi sighed, running his black lacquered finger nails across the pages in Sasuke's lap.

"Stop it."

"She's going to die. You've killed her just by loving her and Naruto too. You are going to be all alone again, just like before, just like I always said. I tried to tell you that this was how it would happen. Your love is like poison…" Itachi mused.

"Liar."

"You'll be mine again, Otouto. Naruto never really saved you. He can't save you now…" Itachi whispered, draping himself elegantly across the floor like a great black and red cat.

"You aren't real. You are a hallucination." Sasuke whispered, shutting his eyes tight.

"Otouto, that's mean." Itachi hissed, looking wounded.

"Go away. I hate you."

"You love me, you have to…"

"I don't."

"I'll make you. You won't have anyone else with your weak, worthless friends all dead. You're such a little disaster." Itachi laughed fondly, making the black and red Akatsuki livery draped over his shoulders quiver just a little.

"You don't know anything about me!" Sasuke snapped.

"Oh, I do. I know you better than that pretty blond, even if you let him fuck you. He wouldn't want you if he knew you like I do." Itachi whispered, licking his lips nastily.

"He loves me. You're jealous." Sasuke said, voice cracking.

"You're a little slut. I always knew you'd end up being worthless." Itachi whispered with a perversely fraternal smile.

"I'm not worthless, I'm not…"

"He won't love you anymore when she dies. He'll never forgive you for failing again." Itachi purred, the blood dripping from his sharingan eyes falling in scarlet drops onto Sasuke's notes.

"I won't fail." Sasuke hissed and wiped the blood away, writing the jutsu anew.

"Why even bother? She's weak…" Itachi, head cocked in curiosity.

"She isn't."

"You always thought so before, always spurned her because she was too weak and too silly." Itachi noted.

"I was wrong. She's strong. She will survive." Sasuke asserted.

"How can she? You aren't strong enough to save her, you never have been." Itachi hissed against his ear.

"I will save her and Naruto too. You'll see. You don't know them. You don't know anything." Sasuke snarled, turning back to his research.

OoOoOoO

Neji walked behind him down the hall, towards the pool of golden light shining through the paper walls of the library, and there was something oddly domestic about it. He felt wanted somehow, felt that if he chose to simply stop following that Naruto would turn and come back for him. It was a peculiar sensation, one that he had not experienced before, at least not since his father died. The jinchuuriki walked ahead, breathing far too heavily for the meager exercise, dressed lightly in a pair of loose silk pants and a sleeveless silk shirt. The clothing was not normal ninja attire and except when he was sleeping or wearing the Uzumaki livery, the blond almost always wore what amounted to standard nin loungewear or jeans and a T-shirt. There was something very specialized about the garb and the close way that it fit, like the clothing had been made for the vessel instead of purchased in a store. Neji cocked his head and wondered if it might have something to do with the heat. Naruto was suffering, the discomfort was obvious on his face and in his movements, and his face was flushed as if from fever. When they had leaned close together the heat from the blond's skin had been like a furnace, hot and radiant. His hands had been so scorching, so hard and inescapable…Neji bit his lip. Being in the jinchuuriki's grasp had been stirring, but also mildly terrifying. He had never felt so helpless, so totally out of control.

Emotions dangerously off balance, Neji felt himself blush as Naruto rapped softly on wooden frame of the library door. The blond turned and smiled at him a little, the expression strained, as only silence answered the greeting. The holy horror of the civilized world, Sasuke Uchiha, was in that library and Naruto was going in after him because he was worried about him. If the situation had been slightly less surreal, Neji might have laughed at the ridiculousness of it. Still, he could not really judge Naruto too harshly. The blond might be in love with a psychotic mass-murderer and a hopeless wreck of a human being, but there was a good chance he might also be in love with him. Perhaps the whole idea was merely narcissism, but Neji felt like if he left or died that he would be missed, that someone would notice he was gone simply out of intuition. Neji could not forget that Naruto had saved him, had risked his life to save him, and no one has asked him to. As usual, the jinchuuriki made him feel valuable, and not because he was strong or ruthless. No, Naruto's acceptance came from a true appreciation of the person that Neji was and not his ability as a ninja. No one had ever wanted him before simply for who he was, instead of what he could do, and that in itself held vast implications. Even if he were woefully incapacitated, badly maimed beyond all recognition, the idiot would still think he was worth something. Even when he was too old to fight or if he simply chose not to, Naruto might still cherish him even though it was stupid, even if by doing so he gained nothing... Neji swallowed hard, the traitorous tears close to the surface again.

Such pure and unconditional affection was something Neji did not believe he deserved and yet he wanted it anyway, wanted to be the person Naruto thought he was. When he had started thinking about things that way, when he had started wanting to belong to the kitsune, Neji had no idea. The fiery little vessel with his uncompromising optimism and boundless devotion was almost as magnetic as Anko had been and for utterly different reasons. Love with Naruto was not simply a word or even an emotion, it was a state of existence. Just as his sensei had told him, the jinchuuriki loved completely, loved with everything that he was, beyond the bounds of anything merely human. The sheer force of the love made Neji feel weak, made him feel exposed, insufficient and yet things like decorum and tradition suddenly became insubstantial. To be with the jinchuuriki was to be made bare in a way that was both uncanny and terrifying and yet the blond always managed to make Neji question why he bothered to hide in the first place.

The feel of Naruto's roughened, velvety tongue against the sensitive skin of his face was still sending tingling waves of heat through his psyche and Neji wondered if Sasuke was the only one driving himself insane. The raven had said something about loving Naruto being the same as belonging to him and at the time Neji had thought the sentiment was meant as a kind of threat. He had barely given the words more than a passing thought, but now he understood a bit what Sasuke might have meant. The feeling of Naruto's hands against him, strong and possessive, made something deep and instinctual in his soul tremble. Simply by being who and what he was, Naruto compelled his submission with even needing to overpower him physically. The feel of the vessel, the smell of him, the way he sounded practically brought Neji to his knees. Being held by the jinchuuriki, kissed by him was like being melted from the inside out. Naruto had asked him if he liked being held, being touched, and he had been so surprised that the jinchuuriki even cared to know… The Hyuuga shook his head. He really should have known.

"Sasuke? Are you in here somewhere, Teme?" Naruto called gently, moving into the library with trepidation.

With a deep breath to steady his nerves, Neji followed the blond and stifled a startled gasp as he moved into the room. The library was a disaster, books thrown into large piles, some marked and others merely set open to the appropriate page, others simply tossed into disarray. Something crunched under foot and Neji stepped back to reveal a half empty box of pencils that had been discarded carelessly on the floor. Naruto's expression was tight and closed and Neji knew he was very worried. Apparently the vessel had not exaggerated his warning about the raven's sanity. There was nothing in the manic clutter to suggest the cool and rather martial approach that Neji had always associated with Sasuke Uchiha's thinking. Naruto stepped delicately around a large pile of jutsu tomes and almost tripped over his subordinate. Sasuke was sitting on the floor, surrounded by at least twenty empty tea cups and two tea pots, furiously making notes in a spiral notebook already half full. He was weary a dingy t-shirt badly stained with ink and tiny drops of blood, surrounded by a scattered pencils that had been worn down to the eraser. Naruto paused, mouth a tight line, waiting for Sasuke to acknowledge his presence. The raven sipped his tea, totally absorbed, and Neji tried hard not to stare at the dark circles around his eyes or the places where his fingers were scabbed over from the constant writing. The man looked awful, even worse than when he had originally dragged him back to Konoha as an angry, half starved, feverish 19 year old.

"Teme, you need to eat something." Naruto said softly.

"I'm working." Sasuke replied with a hiss.

"I see that, but you aren't gonna get anywhere without any food or any sleep. Moron." Naruto huffed, crossing his arms.

"Leave me alone." Sasuke growled, wincing as one of the wounds on his hand broke open to drip blood onto the page.

"Teme, you're bleeding all over your notes. You need a break." Naruto said, his expression vaguely irate.

"Fuck you. I'm working." Sasuke said, sucking on the damaged finger and writing with his other hand that was only in slightly better shape.

Neji was impressed despite himself by the ease with which the raven managed to use his non-dominant hand. It was easy to forget, probably because the man was such a total head case, that Sasuke was one of the greatest scholars in the world in addition to being a homicidal maniac. The Hyuuga sighed and tried to find a place to set the scrolls containing basic Hyuuga jutsu techniques and principles of the somatic techniques. The documents were precious to him and he did not want them to be lost in the wreckage that had consumed the library.

Hiashi would be very angry if he knew that Neji had borrowed them, but the truth was that the texts were his own notes and any information borrowed from the Hyuuga manuscripts had been copied there in bits and pieces by memory. He had been forced to gather the information that way by necessity, in fragments from stolen glances and midnight glimpses at the original books. As a branch house member, he was not supposed to even read the original texts and so any pertinent information in the scrolls were things he had figured out on his own. Hiashi would still be furious and the thought of his leader activating the curse mark on his forehead as punishment made Neji's teeth tingle in remembered agony. He had been compiling the documents since he was eight, hiding them in a lock box of the Konoha public library. Most of the information contained within was conjecture and probably wrong, but maybe there was something that Sasuke could use.

"Neji brought you some more study materials." Naruto noted, gesturing towards the where the Hyuuga stood.

Sasuke grunted noncommittally and pointed towards one of the stacks of books on his right side. Naruto frowned. Neji said nothing and moved to put the books where Sasuke had indicated, thinking that Naruto may have been correct about the raven's state of mind.

"You could at least say 'thank you', Teme." Naruto grumbled.

"Thank you, now fuck off."

"You need to rest, you haven't slept in almost a week." Naruto argued.

"I'm working."

"Sasuke…"

"Naruto…" Sasuke returned, his tone dangerous.

"Come and rest. Eat. You can't go on this way." Naruto ordered.

"Go away." Sasuke snarled.

"Sasuke…"

"YOU don't understand ANYTHING!" Sasuke roared, jumping up to his feet with a sharp crack of stiff tendons. Neji's eyes widened in surprise at the outburst.

"Teme, please…" Naruto pleaded as Sasuke moved an inch in front of his face, looking maddened and furious.

"I CAN'T FIND IT! The equations are all right, but the answer still doesn't MAKE SENSE! You don't KNOW ANYTHING! You can't help her! This is all YOUR FAULT! OUR FAULT! Don't you see? We've KILLED HER, DAMN YOU, and I'm so CLOSE, but I just can't find out what…I can't…I can't…I CAN'T HELP HER!" Sasuke railed, shaking with rage.

"Sasuke…"

"FUCK YOU! YOU don't KNOW what it is EITHER! You can't HELP HER and she's DYING! I won't give up and YOU can't stop me! Itachi can go FUCK HIMSELF! I WON'T LOSE HER! He's NOT going to win this time, HE'S WRONG!" Sasuke shrieked.

"Oh, Teme…Not again." Naruto whispered sadly.

"Itachi…?" Neji asked, looked worried.

"HE'S WRONG! I HATE HIM! I HATE HIM! FUCK YOU! HE'S WRONG! I WON'T LOSE! I WON'T! YOU CAN'T STOP ME!" Sasuke screamed, beating his fists weakly on Naruto's chest.

"Sasuke: Sleep." Naruto ordered and the thrall pounded like a physical thing through Neji's awareness.

Sasuke paused, weaving on his feet, fist raised for another strike only to swoon and collapse into the jinchuuriki's waiting arms. The raven let out a deep exhale with a quiver that seemed to wrack his entire body and closed his maddened red sharingan eyes, his breathing becoming slow and even with sleep. Neji gasped, shaken from watching the true power of the thrall, his own nerves tingling from the very sound of it. A single word and Sasuke was totally unconscious. It was the most terrifying thing he had ever seen. Naruto propped Sasuke against his shoulder, moving his other arm beneath the raven's knees and lifting him easily. The traitor looked so young and vulnerable with his face relaxed and his pale feet suspended in the air, dark head tucked against the blond's throat. The most feared murderer in all the world and Naruto had put him down with a word, just a single command. Neji watched as the jinchuuriki carried Sasuke like a child, resting the man's limp weight against his own body, brushing his lips over the raven's pale brow.

"You…you can do that to him?" Neji asked in a whisper, terrified.

"Yes." Naruto replied in a whisper, looking away.

"Kami…" Neji cursed softly.

"I love him." Naruto said, as if that were the answer to everything, and carried him out of the library and into the darkness of the house.

Neji released the shaky breath he had been holding and fell with a soft thump to his knees, overwhelmed. Naruto controlled Sasuke. He controlled him utterly. The Hyuuga had clearly not given enough thought to the true extent of the thrall and what it would feel like to be so completely dominated. He shuddered. Someone as powerful, as terrifying, as Sasuke Uchiha had been tamed by the jinchuuriki and if he allowed Naruto to enter his body Neji, too, would be wholly overcome. The thought made him faintly nauseas and the silver-eyed nin pressed a palm tightly to his lips. Maybe the blond was right, maybe it would be better if he left, if he ran away to become a renegade like Anko wanted. The truth was that Naruto had never made more than a passing attempt to restrain him and no one would follow if he simply decided to go. To leave would be easier than he had originally thought and perhaps there was some kind of freedom in that. Yet, whenever Neji thought about leaving a deep, cold heaviness settled into his belly and he could hardly breathe.

He had never been alone that way and the sheer shame of running when no one had even been unkind made him feel ill. Hiashi had commanded him into this marriage, but he knew Naruto would never force him into his bed, despite how much the vessel obviously wanted to. There was more to the Uzumaki family than control even if his own clan was ruled that way and despite everything, despite being a puppet to the blond's will, Sasuke still loved Naruto. Sakura loved Naruto too and she did not seem like the kind of person to love a tyrant. Neji knew about a leader who demanded unconditional surrender and it was hard to imagine Naruto being that sort of person, even under the most desperate conditions. Perhaps Hiashi did not understand the true extent of what the thrall could do, but even if he had Neji could not shake the suspicion that nothing would have changed. He was here as a sacrifice, just as his father had been, an offering of blood to save the Hyuuga pride. The realization made him angry and for the first time Neji wondered if being an Uzumaki was no, perhaps even better than being a Hyuuga. Maybe Hinata had been right all along, after all was the curse mark really any different? The mark was a way to command obedience, just as the thrall was, but Sasuke never screamed when Naruto compelled him. Naruto never made Sasuke do something he would hate.

Neji bit his lip and wondered, suddenly feeling shaken and unsure. The stacks of Sasuke's books surrounded him like walls and Neji wondered, if he was indeed a prisoner, who his warden really was. Before he had always merely done as asked and yearned to be stronger, but strength was not freedom the way he had once hoped. Freedom, he discovered was a much more complicated concept. Neji sighed and gazed at the wreckage around him. The books, despite the mess, were organized comprehensively and the Hyuuga began to piece together what it was Sasuke was trying to achieve. The Uchiha was studying ways to refract a ninja's energy, to re-direct the chakra through unused meridians. The theory was mostly sound, since all people had more meridians channels than they necessarily used at any given time, but the flow of energy was not easily restricted for any length of time without grave consequences. Curious, Neji reached for Sasuke's notes and began to read. The procedure and equations were ambitious to say the least, far beyond anything anyone had ever even conceived before. The math was accurate, but the values were not canceling out. The Uchiha was missing a variable, some additional factor beyond the mere geometry of the chakra and the optical calculations of its flow.

Intrigued and eager to solve the problem at hand, Neji settled himself onto Sasuke's recently vacated cushion and began to read. The proposed procedure could work, Sakura could be saved, if only he could figure out what Sasuke was missing. Without really thinking about it, totally absorbed in the intellectual challenge the raven haired genius's note presented, Neji grabbed one of the pencils and began writing the equations anew.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neji and Sasuke achieve a solution to Sakura's energy sickness through collaboration and the realization of one another's skills brings them closer. As both men explore their newfound respect for one another, Sakura's life still hangs in the balance and Sai's sanity along with her.

The behavior of jinchuuriki is understood best as an amalgam of both human and demon social tendencies, no element more important than the others and each in balance. Though the jinchuuriki are, in essence, artificial creatures created by the merger of a human soul with a powerful elemental manifestation they retain the most important elements of each. I argue that the so called vessels are a distinct species in their own right and that only time and chance have prevented the birth of a true jinchuuriki naturally from the seed or womb of another. I am, however, alone in this opinion. Other scholars argue that Jinchuuriki energy, being both vast and foreign, is totally incompatible with the human constitution. They claim this inconsistency as an evolutionary reason for the behavior of pack formation, a kind of side-effect of the vessel's unnatural origin and a way to reproduce without generating true offspring. Still one must wonder what terrible power might be bestowed upon a child already imbued with a demon conceived at the same moment, and if such a child would indeed be one vessel born to another. A jinchuuriki born, not made, would be a force the world has never known.

-Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons

Sasuke was woken abruptly by the indescribable sensation that someone was present, watching him slumber. His body felt heavy and sore, fighting full consciousness in favor of more sleep, but the feeling was impossible to ignore. Too many years of sleeping lightly, able to wake in an instant if the environment changed, had conditioned Sasuke's body and mind to come to alertness in the presence of another person. He opened his eyes only to gaze directly into another pair of dark portals, slate black and nearly as flat as the eyes of a portrait. Sasuke groaned and poked Sai hard in the forehead where the artist was crouched over his prone body, nose mere inches from his own.

"What the fuck?" Sasuke whispered hoarsely.

"You're so pretty when you sleep." The artist answered, eyes crossing as he looked up at where Sasuke's finger was still planted firmly against his brow.

"You're lucky I'm too tired to kick your ass." Sasuke muttered.

"Hmm." Sai replied, still watching him intently.

"Where's Naruto?" Sasuke asked, shutting his eyes and letting his hand fall back against the pillow.

"With Sakura. He told me to watch over you for a while." Sai replied.

"Oh, is that what this is supposed to be?" Sasuke huffed, raising an eyebrow.

"He's worried. He said you were talking to yourself and you only do that when you are having a nightmare." Sai whispered.

"He can go fuck himself and watching does not entail crouching over me like some kind of Oni." Sasuke snapped.

"He just said to watch, he didn't say how close, and being closer makes my chest hurt less." Sai explained, looking away.

"So you're upset." Sasuke stated.

"I'm scared."

Sasuke was not entirely sure how to respond to the confession so he arched his neck instead and brushed his lips over Sai's mouth, noting the fine tremble in the other nin's lips. The touch was soft, uncertain, but Sasuke savored the touch of Sai's mouth and the other nin did not pull away. As usual, the man met him with a hungry sigh, yielding to the tender kiss eagerly. Sasuke explored the artist's mouth, darting his tongue between Sai's soft lips, stroking the velvety muscle of his tongue. The ink nin moaned a little, meeting him with a hint of intensity, his lips hot and stimulating. Sasuke wrapped his arm around Sai's neck, guiding him down until the artist's body was lying flush against his own, pressed together through the comforter. Sasuke ran his fingers tentatively through Sai's heavy hair as they kissed slowly, gently. Their tongues moved and twined, leaving moist trails of luscious heat in the wake of their play. Sasuke's mouth was tingling and sensitive, each brush of Sai's lips more sweet and tempting than the last. The artist's movements were awkward and a bit tentative, nothing like Naruto, but then Sasuke already knew that not all kisses were the same. Sasuke sighed and sucked the other's lower lip into his mouth, enjoying the way Sai yielded to him, how he made his mouth so soft. The ink nin took a shuddering breath that was nearly a sob and Sasuke moved his hands in comforting strokes down his back, enjoying the feel of Sai's body nearly as much as he enjoyed the tender press of his mouth. It was strange, holding the other man this way, but he was tired and aching and the comfort it brought was irresistible.

"This is good, better to touch…" Sai whispered.

"Yes." Sasuke agreed simply.

"I think I love you."

"I don't think you know what that means." Sasuke argued, biting him softly on the chin.

"Shino explained it to me and I think I do. I love you. I love Naruto. I love Sakura. I don't ever want to be alone again." Sai whispered.

"We won't be alone." Sasuke said sternly, looking away.

"How do you know?" Sai said, his voice soft and uncertain.

"Part of loving someone is learning to trust them. That's the hardest part." Sasuke sighed, irritated.

"Sakura says she's fine. She's lying you know." Sai muttered, his voice almost angry.

"That's different."

"I don't understand."

"Naruto believes that I can figure this out and so I will. Simple." Sasuke snapped.

"Simple…" Sai murmured.

Sasuke was grateful that Sai did not press the issue, he was in no mood to argue, especially about something so pointless. The artist pressed a kiss to his neck and nuzzled under the raven's chin. They lay together silently for a while and Sasuke wondered when he had become so accustomed to Sai's presence, when the weight of his body had become so familiar. The artist's breath was soft and warm against his throat and for a single, terrible moment Sasuke wondered what he would do if Sakura dragged them all into death. Sai was not under the thrall, he would be spared even if Naruto succumbed to the pain, but Sasuke was not sure that surviving something that way could even be considered a mercy. The raven knew about being left alone, left behind, what it meant to be a 'survivor' when everyone else was gone. If he did not solve the puzzle and find the answer it would happen again, in his house, a single person left alone with the corpses, but this time it would not be him and somehow that made the thought even worse. His breath hitched and the tears came, dripping down his face and into Sai's hair, but the artist never moved. Sakura had always had the stupidest ideas about crying, about how tears were supposed to be good for you…it was such bullshit. He loved her bullshit.

"Are you crying because you are sad or angry?" Sai asked tentatively.

"Both." Sasuke snarled.

"Are you angry at me?"

"No, moron."

"Do you love me too?" Sai asked.

"No. What would make you think I do?" Sasuke snapped cruelly, but never released the artist from his embrace.

"You kiss me and call me names." Sai said, smiling against Sasuke's jaw.

"Whatever." Sasuke sniffed.

Sasuke was about to tell the artist to shut up and get off so he could get back to work on the energy refraction equations when the sound of running feet caught his attention. Sai stiffened against his body, pulling a kunai from his belt and handing it to Sasuke covertly before arming himself with his ever present tanto blade. They stilled together, almost relaxed and yet vigilant, ready for combat. Sasuke clutched the borrowed weapon and both of them watched the door warily. Naruto was with Sakura, Sasuke could feel the warm thrum of his presence from the other side of the house, so the only person left who might be dashing towards them would be…

"Neji." Sai whispered, but did not relax and Sasuke was reminded that the two of them had nearly beaten each other to death only a few days ago.

"Hai." Sasuke agreed, adjusting the angle of his body in case he needed to rise quickly.

The door burst open, nearly flying from its track as Neji rushed into the room, face flushed and smiling exultantly. The Hyuuga ninja was carrying a spiral notebook that Sasuke noted with a sudden surge of anger as his own and several large scrolls. Sasuke scowled and prepared to beat Neji into a puddle on the floor, furious that the Hyuuga had so much as touched his property, much less taken it. Sai sprang up and onto his toes, tanto held in a firm right guard over Sasuke's chest, face an impassive mask as usual. The raven grumbled darkly. Not only was the artist blocking him from attacking, but the stance was clearly protective and Sasuke felt his cheeks heat with shame. Sai was protecting him, as if he weren't strong enough to handle the situation alone and there was very little he could do about it. The position was awkward as it was and thrashing about would only ruin Sai's stance and make both of them more vulnerable. There was no way to know Neji's intentions, however, and so Sasuke swallowed his pride with a snarl and settled for glaring instead. Neji paused, eyeing the other nin, before closing the door carefully and moving to kneel a few feet away. Sai did not relax his stance.

"You better have a damn good explanation for that," Sasuke growled, gesturing with his chin to the notebook, "I am in a really bad mood."

"Go back to sleep, Sasuke." Sai whispered pleasantly.

"You shut up! Baka!" Sasuke snapped, rolling onto his side.

"You need more rest. I will handle this." Sai said, eyes motionless and focused on Neji.

"I apologize for the intrusion, but I urgently need to speak to Sasuke. Now." Neji said steadily.

"He's resting." Sai said icily and Sasuke's eyes widened at the tone.

"Clearly." Neji said, raising an eyebrow.

"You aren't needed here." Sai said, smiling his awful plastic doll smile.

"Let Sasuke make that decision for himself." Neji hissed, narrowing his eyes.

"Enough! Sai! Get off me!" Sasuke snapped and shoved Sai hard in the face.

The artist absorbed the push and simply rocked back onto his feet, expression unchanged. He backed away, but kept his blade naked and ready, regarding Neji as one might a bomb about to explode. Sasuke sat up with a soft groan and readjusted his kimono, trying to regain at least a bit of his dignity before regarding the other nin. Neji tipped his chin up haughtily and waited, fingers drumming impatiently against the worn cover of the stolen notebook. Sai's eyes flicked to the book and up again and the smile, false as it was, melted from his face.

"That is not yours." The artist stated darkly.

"What do you want and why do you have my notes?" Sasuke snarled.

"Forgive me for borrowing them, but…I figured out how to finish your work, how to perform the procedure. The equations cancel out."Neji said. Sasuke's eyes widened.

"You…you what?" Sasuke breathed, afraid he had misheard the Hyuuga.

"I have it, the answer. I was able to finish your proof and create the procedure you postulated." Neji said and smiled triumphantly.

"Kami…" Sasuke breathed.

"I…I think it will work. We can save her…" Neji whispered urgently, leaning closer.

Sasuke was up in an instant, moving to crouch beside the silver-eyed genius, gesturing impatiently for the notebook. Neji flipped to the relevant pages and handed the notes to him carefully, as if the paper was very precious, and Sasuke could barely breathe. He read over the corrections eagerly and then once again to be sure, but the Hyuuga was correct. The equations canceled and Neji had even made procedural notes in the margins explaining how to best put the theory into practice. Everything he needed to save Sakura had been accounted for: mass, voltage, momentum, optical refraction projections, it was all there. Sasuke gasped and tried to stop his hands from shaking so badly. Neji had done it, done what he could not; he had found a way to save her. Sasuke stroked the pages in awe. Sai moved to look over his shoulder, clearly mystified. Sasuke could hardly blame him, some of the principles were even a bit beyond his own ability, but the theory of it made sense. If they were able to isolate her meridians, the child's own energy could be used to support one of Sakura's organs. By making the fetuse's chakra responsible for one or more of her organs, they could allow greater flexibility of Sakura's own energy, thus removing the danger of organ damage due to chakra blockage. The girl's own energy would still be safely shielded from that of the child's and both could live. The idea was exactly what he had hoped to achieve, only even more elegant than he had imagined. The mathematics was formidable, but Sasuke quickly ascertained that the problem had not been with his theory, but with the fact that he had somehow managed to miss a crucial variable. Even more intriguing, the missing variable appeared to be something as simple as another spacial dimension. Sasuke idly chewed his thumb, trying to comprehend how Neji had managed to fix his unworkable equation into a seamless proof.

"This…This can save her?" Sai asked, fingers shaking against Sasuke's shoulder.

"I believe it can. It has to." Neji said, excited.

"I don't understand. The math seems to work, but it's almost like your equations are using more than three dimensions…" Sasuke murmured, almost to himself.

"There are more than three dimensions. I actually believe that there are six." Neji replied.

"Six…?" Sai asked, sounding confused.

"How did you have come up with this? I have never read about that, not anywhere! I have never seen this in any research but…it seems to work…Where did you find this information?" Sasuke asked suspiciously.

"The Byukugan uses the fourth dimension to anticipate action, that is common knowledge among my clan, and…well…most of the rest of it is my own research." Neji whispered.

"How long have you been working on this?" Sasuke asked, impressed despite himself.

"Since I was eleven." Neji replied.

"It's incredible." Sasuke breathed and meant it.

"Can we save Sakura with this?" Sai asked again, eyes wide.

"If we refract the chakra through her cardiac meridians, we will have more flexibility in terms of how much energy we can move and how to shield her energy from the baby's." Neji noted, blushing a bit at the attention and pointing to where the procedure was explained in the notes.

"Yes, but by doing that the child will be forced to sustain its own development. The baby is remarkably mature, as far as chakra goes, but I don't believe she can survive without at least some of Sakura's energy." Sasuke argued.

"I had thought about that, but I think it will still work because the baby will be receiving energy indirectly through Sakura's blood supply and through her pelvic meridians. The key is to give her enough energy to use, but not so much that it suffocates her." Neji replied.

"I think you might be correct. Your math at least suggests the proportions are right, but that all assumes that you are using accurate values to begin with." Sasuke muttered.

"I checked all the equations twice and cross referenced my values with Master Jiraiya's notes on meridian potentials. That is the most accurate resource to date." Neji said, a bit defensively.

"Jiraiya's research is pretty good, but we will have to correct for the angle here though…my master's research consistently showed that Jiraiya's calculations were incorrect in that respect. Jiraiya always assumed that the female energy would be grounded in the uterus, but it's actually in the abdominal aorta." Sasuke noted, pulling the pencil from the spine of the book and making the correction.

"How…how would Orochimaru have known that?" Neji asked cautiously.

"You don't want to know." Sasuke replied darkly, shooting the other ninja a meaningful look.

"Regardless, the procedure will work." Neji pressed.

"I hope you're right, we don't really have any way to test the theory and if Sakura can't tolerate the refraction…" Sasuke muttered, chewing his nail.

"We don't have any choice except to try."

"Agreed." Sasuke conceded.

"I'll go get the Hokage." Sai stated, standing quickly and dashing from the room.

Sasuke watched him go, a little startled by the abruptness of the ink nin's departure, hoping that he was not acting prematurely. Sai was clearly much more upset about the entire situation than he appeared, not that Sasuke blamed him, though he did envy the artist his control. He had never been able to be that way, to feel emotions and yet show nothing. Despite his best efforts, everyone knew when he was angry or grieving and the reaction of others to his emotions had always made Sasuke feel vulnerable. Before being taken by Naruto, Sasuke had considered vulnerability another kind of weakness and hated himself for the way he felt. Still, he supposed, feeling too much was better than feeling only angry. Sai's running feet disappeared down the hall, the artist making no effort to mask his steps in his hurry. Neji blinked a few times towards the door where Sai had left and Sasuke noticed for the first time that his face looked pale and exhausted. There were dark shadows beneath the other ninja's eyes and Sasuke noticed that way Neji kept drumming hi fingers, a technique they had both learned as a way to stay alert when deprived of rest. The Hyuuga had been working hard, trying to save Sakura just as he had been and the knowledge made Sasuke feel faintly guilty. Neji was not even supposed to be here and yet he was struggling along with the rest of them. He owed Neji something for this, if his theory worked and they could save her. The Hyuuga sighed and rubbed his face, looking fatigued.

"How long was I asleep?" Sasuke asked.

"A little over two days." Neji replied softly.

"And Sakura? She is…is she…?" Sasuke was not sure how to ask it.

"Very close to death, she has not woken once in the past twenty four hours and her vital signs are unstable. We need to hurry." Neji reported.

"Fuck! And no one woke me!?" Sasuke hissed.

"Naruto thought that it would be best for you to sleep, at least until something changed. He was worried about you. You were talking to your brother…" Neji whispered, looking away.

"She could have…What if…and no one FUCKING WOKE ME!" Sasuke roared, incensed.

Neji weathered his flash of temper, looking irate, but mostly just tired. The silver eyed genius thrust his arms into his sleeves, leaving the notebook in Sasuke's hands and saying nothing. Sasuke glared at him, but Neji merely waited, his posture restful and still attentive. The behavior was incredibly annoying, but somehow Sasuke knew that yelling like a maniac would only make him feel more foolish. As it was, the raven found himself panting angrily while the damn Hyuuga waited on his emotions and felt chided anyway.

"Would it have made any difference?" Neji asked after a while, watching Sasuke steadily.

"I would want to see her again, even if it was the last time." Sasuke hissed defensively, hiding his eyes.

"Yes, I suppose so." Neji said, inclining his head slightly in agreement.

"What would you know about it? It isn't like you have any reason to care." Sasuke snapped.

"I feel the same way." Neji whispered, his tone sharper than before.

"About what?"

"About her." Neji stated.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he studied the other ninja, trying to gauge the truthfulness of his statement. After a tense beat, Sasuke activated the sharingan and watched Neji's energy, looking for the small cues that would indicate a lie. The Hyuuga scowled, offended by the clear indication that Sasuke did not believe him, but the raven ignored him. Sakura was precious and he was not prepared to risk her life based on motivations he did not understand. Detecting a lie was a subtle art, but one that he had mastered long ago since learning under Orochimaru had required a proficiency in detecting deception. Sasuke's master lied nearly half the time he said anything and expected his students to know the difference or suffer the consequences. Neji, however, was not lying as far as Sasuke could tell.

"You have come to have feelings for Sakura then." Sasuke accused.

"Yes. I think so." Neji replied.

Sasuke watched his energy, but saw nothing in the chakra to indicate anything other than absolute sincerity. Sasuke sighed, looking for the tells he had come to recognize, but there was nothing there. Either the Hyuuga was the best liar he had ever met, or Neji had truly fallen in love with Sakura. The feeling was there, written in his energy, in the slight tremor around his cardiac meridians and in the way the energy of his arteries glowed just a little more brightly. Sasuke had seen the same thing in Naruto for years, every time the jinchuuriki looked at him, every time they touched. Sasuke pressed his lips together and halted the sharingan, meeting Neji's eyes.

"Why have you done this?" Sasuke asked suddenly.

"Done what?"

"You know what, dammit! Helped her, worked through all this! It isn't like anyone told you to, it isn't like you had any reason and…How does it benefit you?" Sasuke snapped.

"I…I'm not sure that it does, but Sakura saved me, she always saves me and…and well I suppose that's just who she is…"

"But…"

"But…I think maybe I love her for caring so much about what happens to me. Even if it isn't real, even if I'm wrong, just that fact that she would do the same for me is more than enough." Neji, blushing brightly.

"So…it's about a debt." Sasuke said, raising an eyebrow.

"I'd like to think that's all it is, but she makes me feel…different. I've never met anyone like her and for her to die now…just when I think I am beginning to understand…I just…can't." Neji finished lamely, clenching his fists.

So, the Hyuuga Clan's sacrificial offering had managed to see in Sakura what all of them had noticed eventually, what he had loved despite how hard he had tried not to. Sasuke bit his lip. A large part of him wanted to argue, wanted to deny Neji's confession, to tell him that he had no right at all to love her, but those feelings were really pointless. The silver eyed genius had done what he had been unable to do, done what no one else could have ever even attempted and it might save her. If he could save her, wasn't it only fair that Neji should love her? If Neji came to love all of them the way he obviously loved Sakura, Naruto would put him under the thrall and Sasuke might even be able to sleep again. The Hyuuga had been sold to them for the price of peace and Sasuke had always assumed he would be nothing more than a hostage, but what if there could be more? Naruto had always thought so highly of Neji and if he really loved her, if all of them could just be happy…no one would lose anything. Sasuke decided that if it meant Sakura's life, if it meant peace in his house, that he would be willing to try. He was willing to at least offer the chance despite his pride, despite the fact that everything would be different…

"Please say something." Neji whispered miserably.

"Well…I suppose it's not really unexpected, after all she has been spending a lot of time with you and she's the only person you've been willing to talk to without some kind of incident." Sasuke said, shrugging.

"Whatever." Neji hisseded, looking away.

"You're in love with her, but only an idiot would think that loving someone like Sakura would be simple…"

"Nothing is simple." Neji interrupted bitterly.

"…You'll have to put up with the rest of us, of course, and come to terms with Naruto always telling you what to do. He's a jerk about covering your face in public and Sakura will make you eat mushrooms in everything and badger you about going out on dates…" Sasuke continued.

"Wait…what?" Neji asked, startled.

"…Plus, when Naruto is in heat you'll probably be fucked into unconsciousness every damn night and don't even think about saying no. He always looks so pathetic and he'll spike a fever if you can't take it so you just have to put up with the sex, even when you fall asleep in the middle of it. It's really a lot more effort than it's worth, but…if you want…if you want to love her…it…it can be really good too." Sasuke finished quietly.

"Sasuke…" Neji said, eyes wide.

"It's not like anyone cares about my opinion anyway." The Once-Uchiha finished with a shrug.

"Sasuke…It…But…You…You aren't angry?" Neji asked, looking faintly terrified.

"Tch. I never said that." Sasuke growled, crossing his arms.

"Oh." Neji replied, looking both hopeful and confused.

The two men surveyed each other for a moment and then another, each uncertain of how to react or what to say. Finally, Sasuke sighed and leaned forward to set the notebook gently back into Neji's lap, letting his hand rest on the other's leg a few seconds longer than necessary. The Hyuuga looked at him nervously, unsure what to do. Sasuke's heart was beating too fast, leaving him suddenly breathless and slightly light headed. The raven looked into Neji's eyes, body apprehensive, trying to predict what the other ninja's reaction might be. It was awkward and Sasuke felt his face redden from the sheer closeness alone. There was a kind of nervous tension stretched between them, tingling and electric in the few inches of air between Sasuke's hand and Neji's thigh. The flush across the Hyuuga's cheeks was bright and warm against the creamy palor of his face. Truly, now that he bothered to look closely, Neji was far more striking than Sasuke had once thought. He now understood what Naruto had been talking about those distant weeks ago in the hospital when he implied that Neji was beautiful. The Hyuuga's face was smooth and very perfect, an indication of careful breeding, and his dark brown hair only served to emphasize the fine delicacy of his features. Perhaps the aesthetic was not one he had appreciated before, but the beauty was there and gazing at him so closely stirred something in Sasuke's blood. He found Neji attractive and the realization sent a quivering shock through his spine, almost enough that Sasuke pulled away. His eyes widened, but Sasuke did not retreat. Instead, he leaned forward and paused, waiting for a gesture of denial, but though Neji watched him closely the other nin made no attempt to move away. A shaky breath and another and Sasuke moved to brush his lips against the Hyuuga's mouth, the touch as light and brief as the brush of a sparrow's wing. Both of their eyes were open, watching one another like opponents as Sasuke kissed him, but the emotion in Neji's strange silver eyes was neither anger nor disgust. After a moment that felt like an eternity, Neji closed his eyes and cupped Sasuke's jaw, drawing his mouth once more against his own. The kiss was soft, chaste, but Sasuke could still feel the quiet authority in Neji's fingers and it reminded him of Naruto. The gentle press of flesh and hands was finished within the space of a heartbeat and both men leaned away, breathing hard.

"Thank you." Neji whispered.

"What? For a stupid little kiss?" Sasuke huffed, crossing his arms and blushing furiously.

"Come on, the array will take some work to build and activate and I want to check it before Tsunade arrives." Neji said, rising quickly and turning away.

Sasuke said nothing, but rose as well and followed the Hyuuga out and towards the library, sending a silent prayer to anyone who would listen that their theory worked.

OoOoOoO

Sai ran, ran like he had when he was a child and falling behind meant no less than a slow death by starvation. He ran like he had once run from Danzo's lash, ran like the man's ghost was hard on his heels, desperately and with no regard for his body. They had done it, Sasuke and Neji had solved the puzzle and found the solution that Sakura had promised him so many painfully long days ago. She might live, at least now there was a way to save her. She could survive and Sai trusted that she would if the others gave her even a small chance, she was strong. Sai was elated and the feeling overwhelmed him enough that tears threatened at the corner of his eyes, blurring his vision as he ran. He wondered if he was happy, perhaps it was happiness, even if the visceral character of the feeling was remarkably close to terror. Emotions were so difficult to understand and he had never felt so much, so deeply before. There were too many sensations to sort out, some in his body and some in his mind, too many to try to understand and all of them vitally important. The memory of Sasuke's lips against his own was still full and vivid in his memory and it made him want to paint if for no other reason than for some way to expel the fullness in his chest. Sasuke could him feel warm and vulnerable with only a look and the feeling was a discordant counterpoint to the brittle, frozen terror that gripped his spirit whenever Sakura's heart skipped a beat. Sai was not sure if he loved Sakura more than Sasuke or if he loved Sasuke because Sakura also loved him or if the love for each of them was just different.

Sai forced more air into his burning lungs and ran faster. Shino had warned him. He had said that a relationship with a jinchuuriki was complicated, that life would be hard, and for the first time Sai thought he might understand his friend's concerns. If Sasuke and Neji failed and Sakura died, Sai was not sure what he would do, how he would go on or if he even could. The pain that had been gnawing against his ribs would surely destroy his myocardium and then he would die. Death was appealing if it meant he could stay with them and Sai wondered if that meant he was really a coward. The artist did not know if a feeling could kill, if someone could die of love. Sakura had told him that such a thing was ridiculous, but if an emotion could be deadly perhaps that was why Danzo had taught them to feel nothing. The thought was more attractive than the idea that Danzo had tried to numb him for no reason at all, but Sai doubted that the man had ever understood enough about love to worry about it killing his soldiers. Tsunade's residence came into view as he turned a corner, nearly plowing over a pair of lovers strolling in the soft autumn evening, and Sai put on another burst of speed. In a matter of moments the artist stood before the Hokage's door, trying desperately to catch his breath, chilly sweat pouring down his back. As soon as Sai thought he might be able to speak without vomiting or passing out, he pounded on her door, shaking the ancient wood on its hinges. A loud barrage of cursing came from within and the door was thrown open with a thunderous crack.

"I'm coming dammit! You better have a DAMN good reason for…Oh, Sai. It's you." The Hokage paused mid-rant to address him.

"S…Sakura…Neji and Sasuke made the…the refraction…it works now." The artist panted desperately.

"What?" Tsunade asked, confused.

"The…the equation Sasuke has been working on. Neji finished it. Please come. We…we can save her." Sai panted urgently.

"Kami…" The Hokage breathed.

"Please…I don't think she has much time." The artist urged.

"We have to grab some supplies at the hospital. Go on ahead and run home, I'll be there as soon as I have what I need." Tsunade ordered. Sai nodded.

"Please hurry." He managed with a gasp, leaning low against his knees.

"I will and Sai?"

"Yes?"

"Has…has Naruto made love to you?" Tsunade asked quietly.

"I don't think so." The artist shook his head.

"I think you'd know if he had, so we can assume that you aren't under the thrall. That's good." Tsunade said with a relieved sigh, rubbing her temple.

"Why?" The artist asked.

"The thrall is a very dangerous thing. If Sakura does not survive the procedure, there is a good chance both Naruto and Sasuke will die with her. Neji too if Naruto has bedded him. If things go badly, you should be prepared for that possibility." The Hokage lectured softly.

"Prepared? How should I prepare?" Sai asked blankly.

"Just realize that life is sometimes fragile, be aware that nothing is certain in this." Tsunade said, a little sadly.

"If the others die, I will survive?" Sai asked in a whisper, feeling a deep cold settle into his belly.

"Yes. You aren't connected to them through chakra yet."

"Is that what is meant by making love? Is it love that you are worried will harm me?"

"Um…no. Love is powerful, but…um… this is different." Tsunade sighed, frustrated.

"Can love kill?" Sai asked, almost to himself.

"Naruto's can." She replied.

"Yes, I agree. Sakura's love can kill too, I think." Sai mused.

"What do you mean?"

"I think, if I lose them, that my body will die." Sai replied.

"I know it might feel that way, but you have to be prepared to live Sai. It's what they would want..." The Hokage chided.

"I do not want to be alone again." Sai argued, feeling hot and shaky, like a fever.

"No one does, but it still happens."

"Like Sasuke. Like when Itachi killed his family." Sai murmured.

"Yes…sometimes even like that." Tsunade nodded sadly.

"How can people learn to feel so much! How can we feel so much, so strong… and…and still SURVIVE IT!?" Sai shouted suddenly, the tears hot in his eyes again. Tsunade's expression softened, but the artist was not sure what that meant.

"Most of us learn it little by little and then it doesn't seem so overwhelming, but the truth is that no one knows what to do when the people they love are hurt, when the people they love die. Some people are able to grieve and struggle and move on, but no one is ever the same. You just have to do the best you can, because life is precious, because people are depending on you…" Tsunade sighed, her eyes dark with some private memory.

"I don't know what you want me to say." Sai whispered, fingers shaking.

"Nothing. Knowing is enough." Tsunade said and turned away.

OoOoOoO

Toki laughed and played with Akamaru, jumping up onto the gigantic dog's shoulders and riding him awkwardly around the garden. Kiba smiled and tried not to fidget in his Hyuuga livery even though the heavy silks still felt strange and uncomfortable against his skin. Without his furs, the newly christened Hyuuga consort felt oddly undressed, as if he were walking about in his pajamas. Hinata assured him that the strangeness would pass, that things would become comfortable bit by bit, but Kiba knew that nothing would ever be the same. The marriage had been formally agreed upon and dowry had been paid, his marriage contract now lay in the Hyuuga library, locked away securely along with Hinata's. Kiba had been elated to sign the papers and give himself over formally to the woman he had loved for nearly five years, but he was not naïve enough to think that such a thing was without consequences. He would never be woken by the howling of the dogs again or play bones with his sister in the courtyard, he would no longer wear furs or paint his face at parties and he would no longer bow to women...Kiba bit his lip at the thought, feeling strangely angered. Standing as Granny embraced him, forcing himself not to bow as she stood and left had taken an effort of will beyond what he had ever expected. Granny had gone and for the first time Kiba wondered if he really could live as a Hyuuga without going insane. He had known all along that life would be different, foreign, but it was somehow worse for being alone.

Even something as simple as the absence of a bow of respect changed the entire culture of a place and not, he thought, in a good way. He had grown up in a clan ruled by women and now simply pretending that they did not exist seemed shameful. True, it was irksome that the Inuzukas held females in such high regard when many of the other clans passed their leadership through the male line, but living without the gesture felt alien. Hyuuga women were usually ignored, status being recognized instead of gender, but simply walking past them without so much as nodding his head made Kiba feel anxious. The once-Inuzuka still felt the urge to approach Hinata's mother on his knees, much to the lady's discomfort, and bowed to Hinata in private just so his body would not feel so strange. The look in Granny's eyes had told Kiba that the matriarch pitied him even as she admired his courage and he knew, viscerally, that he was a prisoner.

The marriage was a collar and one that he would have to grow to love if he wanted to retain his pride. In many ways, he had far more power in the Hyuuga clan than he had ever been given in his own, but with it came all sorts of silent shackles. As a consort to their princess, he would never be allowed to leave the compound without an escort, except while on missions, and even then the clan reserved the power to decline the work should they see fit. Everything he said or did was tied to Hinata's reputation. Kiba was a Hyuuga now and the silver-eyed clan preferred formality in every aspect of life. There was a proper way to speak, to eat, to cough, to sit and probably even to fuck though Hinata had been good enough not to mention it. Life in the Hyuuga clan was delicate and restrictive, filled with unspoken judgments and complicated customs, but Kiba was determined to persevere. If the only comfort would be in the arms of his wife, that would be more than enough. Kiba missed the smells of his home and the frankness of his clan, but he was determined to make the most of his position in the Hyuuga compound. They were his family now and they needed him.

He sighed and tapped a kunai against his thigh, lost in thought. Toki would live and for that he was grateful, but the implications of Granny's cure were vast. Someone had poisoned the boy and Kiba's nose told him that, as his matriarch implied, Hyuuga clan leadership was to blame. As Granny advised, Kiba had been sniffing all of their food and drink, finally deciding that Hinata's tea smelled too suspiciously to be ignored even if the heiress was not ill. Lately, Kiba ordered that their meals be prepared by Kagura, the woman whose child he had saved. Kagura was an excellent cook and as a branch house member, she was obliged to serve him in any way required. Even if their positions were reversed, Kiba liked to think that Kagura would have done what she could to protect him anyway, simply because he had managed to save her son. The arrangement was good for everyone. Kiba could rest secure in the knowledge that his food was not being tampered with and keep Toki close in case the killer decided to attempt the child's murder again. Kiba had built a fortress within the Hyuuga compound in order to protect his family, he had had to.

"Faster 'Maru! Faster!" Toki shouted, urging the dog to leap over small hedges.

"Toki! Be careful!" Hinata admonished softly, hands on her hips.

"Hai, Hime-sama!" The child chortled.

Kiba watched them and tried to let the scene melt the shell of cold worry around his heart. He had managed to make a small team, even here in his wife's world, and the knowledge that he was close to trusted friends soothed Kiba greatly. There was peace in the company of friends and trusted vassals and Kiba wondered if Naruto felt the same way resting among his subordinates, sleeping between Neji and Sasuke. The mere thought almost made him wince. Kiba certainly would not have felt comfortable sharing a bed with the unholy terror of all civilization and the unstoppable human weapon of the Hyuuga clan, but then again Naruto had his own ways with people. Kiba sighed. He hoped that his friends could manage to be happy even if such a thing seemed almost impossible in the boiling intrigue that had consumed his own life.

Toki tried to toss a large ball for Akamaru and ended up in a heap as the large toy overbalanced him. The dog barked sharply, moving to lick the child roughly. Hinata smiled softly and moved to dust the little boy off before he could begin to cry and cause too much noise. Kagura laughed softly to see the antics as she set a small tray of tea and rice cakes near Kiba's right hand.

"Kiba-sama is quiet today." The woman remarked.

"A dog can be taught not to bark." Kiba replied under his breath.

"To Kiba-sama, dogs are important, even when their voices are sharp. The dog is strong in his spirit and lends him a good nose." Kagura said.

"I guess so."

"Perhaps…Kiba-sama misses his people?" Kagura pressed.

"I am among my people." Kiba replied, sipping the tea.

"Yes, but our ways are strange to you."

Kiba did not refute her, but decided to do as he had watched the other Hyuugas do and say nothing at all, leaving Kagura to make up her own mind. He silenced his bark much more frequently lately and was beginning to see why everyone round here was always so damn quiet. If the Inuzuka clan worshipped their dogs, Kiba decided that the Hyuugas worshipped their silence. No one in the Hyuuga compound walked loudly to announce their presence or called out greetings to one another. No one spoke if an expression or a gesture was enough to convey the point and music was only played softly. Silence was a way of life, a kind of hidden command in everything that the Hyuuga clan did. Even something as simple as admiring a landscape or comforting a friend was done in the most intensely soundless way possible. Kiba drank his tea and tried not to mope. Maybe he was lonely and maybe the silence was suffocating, but moping was for losers.

He turned his attention to the lovely formal garden surrounding his new home, trying to find peace in the elegant lawns and late flowers. Hinata had commented that the garden was lovely today, just the way the Hyuugas preferred it and Kiba found the sentiment more than a bit ironic. The mist crawled across the ground in swirling waves, obscuring the bushes and paths, leaving sparkling moisture behind to hang like an omen. Everything was washed of color, softened by shadow and made even more noiseless than usual. Toki's peals of laughter seemed strange and too sudden in the heavy air. As gardens went, this one was not his favorite. Kiba decided that beauty lost something when there was no sound or color associated with it, but bit his bark on that sentiment as well. Arguing over aesthetics was even more futile than trying to stop a pup from ruining leather shoes. Kiba took another sip to stifle a groan and rubbed his temple.

"The garden is beautiful today." Kagura noted.

"Hai." Kiba agreed, resting his forehead against his palm.

"My lord is unhappy." Kagura said, resting a hand against his shoulder.

"I'm not anybody's lord."

"You are Hinata's husband and so you will be lord to us all when Hiashi-sama passes into the next life." Kagura said, her voice blank of emotion.

"Hinata will be clan head, I'm just…just here." Kiba sighed.

"You are here and we are grateful to have Kiba-sama among us. Everyone loves him and his dog." Kagura said affectionately.

"Not everyone." Kiba whispered.

"No, but this is the way of things. Those in power are to be pitied."

"Why?"

"Because those with power must keep it." Kagura said wisely, raising an eyebrow.

"You are seriously way too smart to be a servant." He acceded, smiling a little.

"I am pleased if I am Kiba-sama's servant." Kagura said with a conspirator's smile.

"You take care of me and I'm really grateful for it too, ya know? It's not like you have to…" Kiba said.

"My young lord needs looking after or he becomes melancholy." Kagura grumbled, a bit self-righteously.

"Nah, I ain't melancholy or whatever. I just hate how quiet it is today. My home was pretty loud most of the time and so it still feels a little weird." Kiba confessed.

"Many important dogs bark, yes?"

"Yes. They bark all day and play and fight. Everybody has to shout over the racket." Kiba said nostalgically.

"Perhaps Kiba-sama might bring some dogs here to bark for us?" Kagura offered.

"Nah, Hiashi would kill me and our dogs are way too important for Granny to give away like that." Kiba sighed.

"Kiba-sama's happiness is important too." Kagura huffed indignantly.

"Tell me, what is it that is important to Hyuuga? The way dogs are important to me?" Kiba asked softly.

"The Byukugan of course."

Akamaru tackled Hinata to the ground and began licking her. The girl struggled against the dog, but finally gave into his affection, laughing wildly. The laughter was pure and delightful and lifted Kiba's spirits to hear. He paused, wondering for a moment.

"The Byukugan is what you believe in, eh?" Kiba wondered aloud.

"With it all things hidden can be seen and all secrets come undone. The Byukugan gives both strength and knowledge." Kagura explained.

"Hmm…I guess having the place noisy makes it hard to get a good look at things." Kiba noted with a smile.

"Yes, quiet makes it easier to focus."

"Weird, but I think maybe I get it." Kiba said with a nod.

"Kiba-sama understands better than he thinks, you also watch carefully and observe, waiting for the right time." Kagura whispered.

"I really hate to wait, wait for someone to do something…It's stupid, just sitting around, but there ain't nothing else I can do! I have to protect her, even if it means a muzzle." Kiba growled softly, eyes fixed on where Hinata leaned against Akamaru's side.

"Yes, to wait is vexing, but your nose tells you that timing is important, yes? Just as the Byukugan tells me that Kiba-sama will not wait forever…" Kagura whispered.

"What if I have to? What if being impatient could just get everyone killed…" He murmured.

"Kiba-sama is not a man to hesitate when faced with matters of deception. If he were, then my Toki would be dead now. Your nose is too sensitive to abide the stench of evil things." Kagura said, looking at him steadily.

"I don't like bad smells." Kiba agreed with a low snarl.

"Then maybe my lord should sniff them out." Kagura urged softly.

"You may not like where the scent leads. Hinata may not like it…"

"I will be loyal to you regardless of what my lord smells and my Hime has never refuted the truth of things. You love her and so you know that what I say is true. We would never betray you even if the smell leads to…unexpected places."

"I know, but it really ain't simple like that, is it? " Kiba whispered, lightly pressing his fingers against the cloth covering the curse mark on Kagura's forehead.

The woman looked down in shame at the gesture, her face twisted for the barest instant with an expression almost like rage, before smoothing into a polite mask once again. Kiba removed his hand with a low whine, feeling cold and very lonely. He expected Kagura to bow and excuse herself, to gracefully abstain from the intensity of the conversation, but the woman stood beside him for a heartbeat and then another. Kiba watched Hinata, watched her smile and let the sight warm his blood a little as the brittle apprehension of the moment stretched.

"Kiba-sama feels his leash as I feel my own." Kagura finally breathed softly.

"Hai." He agreed.

"But a leash is no shame if the master is honorable and your bonds are held by Hime Hinata-sama and through her you will one day hold mine. You give your freedom gladly to our Hime, because you recognize her honor and kindness and strength. Akamaru gives you his loyalty for the same reason. We are connected this way and so we are partners, not prisoners." Kagura whispered.

"I am not the one who compels your loyalty, Kagura." Kiba snarled darkly.

"Not yet, but my Master holds many leashes, many, many and one by one his hounds pull away from his grasp." Kagura promised and there was a hint of savagery in the statement.

"That's treason, you know." Kiba whispered, a smile tugging at his lips anyway.

"Can a slave be a traitor?" Kagura asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Neji would say that we're all slaves, to fate or something." Kiba groused, shrugging.

"If that is so, then Neji fights against his Master anyway, even if he doesn't know that he does so. He has no natural talent for servitude and he has never merely accepted his position." Kagura argued.

"Yeah, I guess that's true."

"Even a dog cannot resist a leash held by a kind and loving master…but pulls hard when the bond is in the hands of a tyrant." Kagura noted with a laugh.

"You know a lot more about dogs than I thought a Hyuuga would. In fact, you'd make a pretty decent Inuzuka, lady." Kiba laughed and meant it.

Kagura shrugged, but smiled at him, her strange silver eyes alight with merriment and also ferocity. Her words had warmed him and Kiba knew that she was right, that he would never accept helplessness. If Hinata did hold his leash, then she did so loosely, trusting that he would know what to do and an Inuzuka never disappointed his woman! Kiba returned the woman's smile fiercely as he stood and embraced Kagura roughly, feeling the icy stillness melt like a curse being broken. The woman let out a startled squeak, but chuckled gently and returned the embrace. Kiba gave his first loyal servant one last squeeze and then bowed his thanks to her, pleased by the embarrassed blush that crossed the woman's face at the unexpected honor. Akamaru barked loudly, wagging his tail in excitement as Toki bounded up from behind a small rise to chase after the massive dog. Their play was rough, the boy darting and lunging at the dog in a passionate game of tag. Kiba laughed aloud, shattering the stillness of the garden, and Hinata turned to smile happily at him. Her beauty no less than luminous in the morning mists and Kiba was reminded that his wife always knew far more than she said. He was not down yet, not beaten by a long shot and even here Kiba knew he would be able to make a difference. He strode out into the garden and howled as he had when he was a boy. The sound was deep and powerful with victory, echoing against the manicured perfection of the Hyuuga compound just as the sun surged through the heavy clouds to burn the mist away.

OoOoOoO

Naruto held Sakura close, pressing her damp hair firm against his cheek, praying frantically that whatever Neji and Sasuke were doing would work. The two men crouched over a vast array drawn on the floor of the main audience chamber, feverishly checking and re-checking the position of every symbol. Copper bowls filled with salt water had been strategically placed around the circle, ready to be used to direct Sakura's chakra. Sasuke had told him that they were going to try to separate Sakura's energy from that of the baby, keep the ki separate and balanced so that both could live. Naruto had been so elated when Sasuke told him that he nearly started crying, but the truth was that their solution was anything but certain. Tsunade had used a machine to filter the girl's blood in order to stave off the poison slowly growing in the girl's body. The Hokage had given her three full courses of fluid and a multitude of drugs in order to facilitate the procedure and protect Sakura's organs from shock as much as possible. Even with everything the Hokage's considerable expertise could offer, Naruto still knew that his wife's chances were terrifyingly small.

She had fallen into a deep stupor and had not woken even when Tsunade had cleaned her blood with the dialysis filter. The Hokage's mouth had gotten firm, tight with some unspoken curse, after the procedure and Naruto knew she had expected Sakura to regain consciousness. The implications were ominous, but Naruto had not shared them with Sasuke or Sai. The raven needed his focus to be absolute if they were to have any chance to save her and Sai was barely holding onto his composure as it was. Oddly enough, Naruto had settled for telling Neji, more out of desperation than any logical reason. Neji had calmly accepted the information even though he looked longer and more desperately at Sakura and then moved to make a few corrections to his calculations. Naruto felt soothed by the Hyuuga's quiet confidence even if his arms were shaking around Sakura now. The long plastic IV fluid lines inserted into Sakura's thin arms looked macabre and not only because of the dark bruises that the needles had left in her flesh. Years had passed since Naruto saw Sakura bruise and looking at her now, pale and gray and covered in small un-healing wounds, made his heart tremble with fear. If she could not heal, if she could not live…Naruto stifled the fear and pressed his lips lovingly to her forehead, stroking his nose gently into her sweat-soaked hair.

Sakura was wrapped in a long length of heavy silk, maneuverable enough to allow his subordinates to access her meridian points and yet warm enough to protect her fragile body from a chill. Tsunade was only a call away if they needed her, but the Hokage had wisely chosen to leave the Uzumaki clan to their work in private. Naruto was grateful, grateful that only Sasuke and Neji's hands would be on Sakura's body, that none of the girl's own nurses or assistants would have to see her so weak. Sai leaned heavily against his back, arms wrapped like a vice around his shoulders, the artist's breath coming fast and terrified on his neck. The ink nin was worried that Sakura would die, but Naruto knew it was worse for him and Neji because of the possibility that he and Sasuke would follow her into death. Naruto wanted to say something to him, to offer some comfort, but every time he thought of losing his mate the pain was almost unbearable. The heavy, agonizing stillness in his chest would be enough to stop his heart unless he fought with all his strength to stay alive and the Jinchuuriki was tired, so tired. The blond had lost Sakura once before, the first time they ever made love, and he knew how real death's embrace could be without her.

"Please, don't go." Sai whispered against Naruto's neck and the Jinchuuriki wondered briefly if the ink nin had managed to read his thoughts.

"Sasuke is going to save her. Everything will be okay. Believe it." Naruto said, holding his wife's too-still body a little closer.

"I have to be prepared." Sai said.

"I guess so." Naruto sighed, leaning back a bit into the artist's embrace.

"If you have to go…won't you kill me too?" Sai asked, small and frightened.

"Sai…"

"If you make love to me, can't I stay with you?" The artist asked his voice brittle and filled with too much feeling.

"Nobody is going to die today." Naruto said firmly.

"I love you." Sai whispered, his voice trembling a bit.

"I love you too." Naruto replied and knew that the words were only the truth.

"It hurts…them love…it hurts now." Sai murmured.

"I know, sometimes it does…" Naruto whispered softly.

Sai said nothing, but wrapped his arms around Naruto's shoulders a bit more tightly and buried his face in the nape of the Jinchuuriki's neck. Sasuke had finished checking the circle and was waiting impatiently for Neji to finish his own calculations, tapping his fingers against the wooden floor in irritation. Naruto took a deep breath and pressed a soft kiss against Sai's hand where it gripped the shoulder of his t-shirt. All of them were dressed simply, in pajama pants and rumpled T-shirts, at least one of which Naruto was pretty sure Sai had stolen from Sasuke. Neji wore the simple, colorless clothes Sakura had bought for him to sleep in and had pulled his long hair back into a tail to hide the fact that he had forgotten to wash it. Sasuke still had ink on his face and cuts on his hands and showed no indication that he cared. They had been working tirelessly, all of them, together. Naruto knew that all of this would be a very good thing, at least if they managed to survive.

"We're ready." Neji said, gesturing towards the center of their circle.

"Right." Naruto replied taking a deep breath.

He disentangled himself enough from Sai to stand and began the tedious and nauseating process of disconnecting all of Sakura's IVs. Sai helped, gently closing and unclipping the lines with far more precision than Naruto could have hoped to achieve. Soon the girl was free of her life-support and Naruto lifted her into his arms once again.

"Put her here." Sasuke directed.

Naruto nodded and laid their wife in the center of the vast array already beginning to sparkle with the pale surge of Neji's energy. He wanted to stay and hold her, but the jutsu would never work with so many confounding variables, and he had to leave. The action took a terrible effort, but Naruto finally stepped back, hugging Sai tightly as soon as his toes left the massive chakra device. The artist clung to him and both of them shuddered, trying to muster enough self-control to stand still and watch. There was the sharp scent of gunpowder and something almost like incense as Neji stretched himself fully into the jutsu, the array pulsing with the serpentine current of his chakra. Sasuke knelt and pressed his palms together, his expression filled with the same terrible focus as the day he had nearly beat Naruto to death in the valley of the end. Sasuke was serious and Naruto knew better than anyone that the very world trembled when Sasuke set his eyes on a goal. The raven exhaled and the circle ignited with a shock of royal blue lightning, the sparking energy dancing and sizzling across the lines to meet and surge around Neji's. Their life force tangled and snapped, filling the air with ozone as both men struggled for control of the writhing energies. Naruto watched, fascinated and terrified, one hand wrapped tightly around Sai's wrist as if to ground himself before the awesome power of the spectacle. The artist's eyes widened as the roaring power swept through the room with the force of a typhoon, ripping Sakura's tapestries from the wall and flinging the china from the shelves.

A storm erupted before them, a vast whirlpool of fire and lightning and ice and metal, too many elements clashing and battling for dominance. The two geniuses fought for control, each trying to find harmony and synchrony in the wailing hurricane of the primal energies they had unleashed. Sweat had begun to mist on Neji's face and the Hyuuga's mouth twisted with the strain. Sasuke was already breathing hard. Naruto grit his teeth and prayed. There was a moment of awful tension as the energy moved like waves, furious and chaotic, slamming against itself and then everything was suddenly quiet. The silence was startling after the shrieking power of the chakra storm and Naruto's breath sounded deafening in his ears. As he watched, the ki settled peacefully into a smooth, reflective pool and Neji let out a shuddering breath in relief. Sasuke was smiling fiercely from the other side of the array, his arms trembling against the contact points on the array. Naruto had no idea what had just happened, but he breathed a heavy sigh of relief anyway and stroked Sai's hair. The Jinchuuriki figured that if the others looked so happy, this must be how the damn thing was supposed to work. No longer flaring, the chakra glowed gently, rippling gracefully around Sakura's huddle form. The placid energy swirled and slowly, so slowly, began to soak into the limp body of the girl in its midst.

Sakura groaned a little and the energy jumped. Naruto held his breath and felt Sai do the same, but Sakura only sighed and the chakra began to flow like a river into her body. Sasuke engaged his sharingan, eyes moving with inhuman speed over the weaving lines of primal energy. Neji waited a beat and then activated the Byukugan, watching carefully as well.

"Okay, move it to the left." Neji instructed.

Sasuke nodded and moved his hands, the glowing commands of the drawn justu following his movements and transmitting his will into the ki. The chakra bucked a bit, flaring angrily, and Neji scowled. Sasuke bit his lip and corrected, settling the roiling light back into a more sedate pattern.

"I said left." Neji snarled.

"Yeah, and if you meant left and deep then you should have said so!" Sasuke snapped.

"Oh, I forgot you can only see in two dimensions." Neji muttered, not entirely apologetically.

"Just shut up and lock that chakra juncture." Sasuke ordered.

Neji moved to obey him, shifting the pool of glowing life-force to accommodate the command. They worked, carefully realigning Sakura's meridian lines, shielding her energy from that of the baby's. The process was excruciating to watch, probably even more so to perform, and Naruto found that he had accidentally locked his knees while watching. He would have probably fallen over, but Sai noticed in time and saved the blond from collapsing. The artist guided both of them down to sit on the floor, trying to make as little noise as possible, and the surgery stretched on. One hour passed, and then two before Naruto finally lost count. Sasuke and Neji were both soaked in sweat and panting hard as if they had run a great distance and Naruto pushed a bit more of his own chakra through the raven's body, hoping it would sustain him. Hours passed and Naruto heard the birds begin to stir and sing outside. Neji and Sasuke worked on, pushing and pulling the chakra into ever more exact and vital positions, their commands becoming ever more exact.

"Turn the hepatic meridian 62 degrees and force it deep 4.5 mm." Neji ordered in a dry whisper.

"Hai." Sasuke gasped and moved to make the correction.

"Lock the left renal meridian 8.6 mm from the renal pelvis and rotate 130 degrees." Neji said.

"Done. Reinforce the left lateral splenic vector down 4/8 of its length." Sasuke panted.

"Hai." Neji replied weakly.

Naruto was breathing heavily and sweating as well, the drain on his chakra finally taxing his reserves as his subordinates worked and the hours passed. Sai lay in his lap, looking blank and clutching his knee with tight, panicked fingers. Yet, despite the strain, Naruto could already tell that the procedure was working. Sakura's bruises had begun to sluggishly heal before his eyes and her color was returning bit by bit. The jinchuuriki wanted to laugh, or cheer, but his endurance was already being taxed to its limit merely trying to remain conscious.

"Rotate her cardiac meridian 96 degrees left and force deep 1.18 mm, lateral .68 mm and then lock in position." Sasuke ordered.

"Uh…repeat." Neji said shutting his eyes a moment, shaking his head.

"Once again: Rotate her cardiac meridian 96 degrees left and force deep 1.18 mm, lateral .68 mm and then lock in position." Sasuke said again and Neji moved.

Finally, both men were still, leaning forward on their arms and trying hard to catch their breath. The work was finally done, but Naruto knew that there was still a terrible risk of Sakura's heart jumping into an arrhythmia as soon as she was released from the energetic web Sasuke and Neji had created. Her heart could stop and even though they were prepared, there was no telling whether or not she would live. Neji looked up, meeting Sasuke eyes, and the raven swallowed hard.

"We need to release her, we can't sustain this." Neji whispered.

"I…I know." Sasuke replied shakily.

"Are you ready?" Neji asked.

"Hai."

Naruto wiped the sweat off of his face and held his breath as his subordinates aligned their energy for the last time. Sasuke nodded and they both removed their hands, cutting the connection. There was a snapping crack of displaced air and the array flickered once and darkened.

The pain was instantaneous and deep, an icy, sucking void in the center of Naruto's chest. The Jinchuuriki tried to move, to help, but the sudden emptiness within his mind was too shocking for his brain to find a way around. His body did not know how to breathe, how to move. Like being plunged in freezing water, the shock was impenetrable. Naruto gasped, struggling, trying to hold on. Somewhere to his left Sasuke was screaming and writhing on the floor, suffering the agony of her passing as well. Neji screamed too, but the sound died high and awful as he ran out of air, gasping like a fish dragged onto dry land to die. Naruto tried, tried to pull back and away from the blackness, from the frozen darkness reaching for his heart, but it was like fighting against a tidal wave. Someone was running, but Naruto could not see who it was. He fought, fought to pull away from the death and back into the heat, but every fiber of his being was screaming in agony. She was gone, she was just gone…


	13. Chapter 13

In my own country, there is considerable strife between demons and humans as they attempt, and fail, to coexist. Such discord should come as no surprise as both races must, by necessity, compete for space and resources and so it is only natural that we be at odds. Most of my fellow scholars have become inured to the pain and death innate in this conflict, but I still privately pray for a naïve form of peace that does not involve the total extermination of one or the other species. Though strange, and artificial, Jinchuuriki represent a merger of the two species far more powerful and harmonious than has ever been achieved by a natural mating between men and demons. The creatures are a distinct species, unlike either race, fully possessed of their own behaviors and traits. The Jinchuuriki survive and often thrive among their weaker human counterparts, while still living in accord with their kindred demon brethren, achieving an understanding of both great powers in the world. Many discount the creatures as an oddity of the east, even a kind of perversion, but one must note the tremendous capacity for affection and altruism possessed by the Jinchuuriki. I confess that this trait amongst them gives me great solace, for the unimaginable power that the beings possess would be a tremendous force for destruction without this uncanny kindness to lend it temperance. There is very little true evidence to suggest that the ancient shamans who first forged the vessels had any motivation beyond harnessing the might of the elemental demons to serve man. Yet, perhaps in doing so, they also achieved a kind of balance. As humankind penetrates the natural world and re-makes it to fit our own needs the great spirits of the land and the water fall before us one by one. The demons, despite their power, have no reprieve against our numbers. What will happen, I wonder, when there are no longer demons of light or rain or fire or wood? I fear that the elements of our world will fail and grow lifeless without the demons that share familiarity with them and leave our home barren. If such spirits can continue to exist in the heart and mind and chakra of the Jinchuuriki, this is a boon to us all.  
-Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons  
Sai knew, even before Naruto gasped and cried out, that Sakura's heart had failed. The knowledge was inexplicable, like knowing that lightning is about to strike or that a grenade was about to explode, and Sai was already up and moving before the jinchuuriki collapsed. He grabbed the field medical kit from the floor where he had set it in advance, fumbling only a moment in the sudden darkness. Tsunade had told him to be prepared. He had set aside everything that they might need if the procedure failed or if Sakura's body collapsed due to the stress, everything he could think of to save her if it were up to him alone. Tearing the kit open as he went, Sai ran towards Sakura, trying to shut out the sound of Sasuke screaming. Sasuke's voice was like a kind of pain in itself, horrible to listen to and even worse to ignore. The raven screamed and thrashed against the floor, body thumping sickeningly against the wood as he fought not to die along with her. Naruto however, was almost totally silent and that worried Sai far more. Neji screamed as well, but the sound ended in a breathless wail and Sai wondered if the chakra backlash had somehow injured him. Whatever the reason, Neji had been hurt badly and the Hyuuga would be incapable of helping him as well. The artist shut his eyes and promptly tripped over something in the darkness. Sasuke screamed again, the sound filled with agony and also horrible grief. Sai wanted to run to him, to hold him and make the pain go away, but doing so would only kill them all. Acting ruthlessly, without hesitation was harder, he noted, when the people in question were ones that he cared about. Still, Sai shut it out, shut out the sound of Sasuke screaming, carefully not looking at where Neji was gasping for air as he slid to his knees. The array had been so bright that no one thought to light the house's lamps even though darkness had come again. The artist's own eyes had been shocked into uselessness by the light of Sasuke and Neji's jutsu and Sai was forced to find Sakura's body by touch alone. He fumbled roughly with the silk around her, shocked by the chilly, lifeless feel of her flesh.  
Sakura was still, her limbs limp, and when he felt for her pulse there was no movement beneath his fingers. Sai swallowed and tried to remind himself that he had already expected such a situation. He needed to focus. Her heart was still in her chest and he knew that there was only a small window of time before…He refused to think about it. Sai swallowed around the hard lump of panic forming in his chest and pulled the small, portable cardiac defribrillator from the kit, tearing the equipment from its plastic wrapping with his teeth. Even as compact as the med-kit was, he still felt that there were far too many pieces, things rolling away in the darkness that he could neither recognize nor snatch back. Sai hoped desperately that none of the small plastic things dropping through his fingers were vitally important.  
His knowledge of field medicine was limited at best. Danzo did not believe in wasting resources on saving injured soldiers unless they could be made fit to fight quickly and so Sai had only been taught the most basic protocols. Trying to save a comrade on the field was an excellent way to be killed yourself and Root did not believe in acts of heroism. Danzo had taught him that a person was only worth something so long as they could get up, but Sai no longer believed in the doctrine that he was raised with. Sai decided that Danzo must have never understood what it felt like to love someone, or perhaps he had and feared the terrible power of the feeling. Regardless, he was wrong…so wrong…Sakura was worth everything.  
Sai penned a quick light jutsu, reading the directions on the de-fribrillator in the weak blue glow as quickly as possible and then reading them again just to be sure. Sai forced a hissing breath through his nostrils and finally managed to connect the cords of paddles to the defribrillator in the correct configuration. There was a diagram on the machine and Sai set the electrical pads in place where the drawing indicated on Sakura's chest. The drawing was male and Sakura's breasts made the placement of the pads difficult, but Sai inferred as best he could, remembering that exact placement was not as important as the fact that her heart was between the leads. He tore the backings off of the adhesive surfaces of the electrical paddles as he went. The machine was awkward and Sai was forced to read the diagram upside down, but he was finally able to secure the sticky electrical pads to her chest properly. Each second felt like an eternity, too long, too impossibly long to still save her. His hands were still and sure despite the broiling typhoon in his mind and Sai was grateful Danzo had trained him so well even if he would have been very angry about, well, everything. Sai had never learned how to secure a tourniquet or how to treat someone with shrapnel injuries or shock, but even Danzo had deemed it appropriate to teach them basic cardiac first aid. The artist was grateful he at least knew that the best way to save someone whose heart had stopped was with a directed electrical shock.  
He remembered to shock first and shock fast, but every second felt like too long. Sai flipped the defribrillator on, hand hovering nervously over the shock button, but the light to indicate full charge was not green. The light had to be green of the defribrillator would not shock. Sai's eyes widened. He had forgotten that most models required a few moments to prime up to full charge. Sakura would have to wait and for the first time Sai felt his fingers begin to shake. How many minutes had it been? He didn't know. Grunting, Sai placed his palms one over the other and began chest compressions. He did not bother with rescue breathing, knowing that it only really worked if there were two people. Rescue breathing took time, too much time, and her heart had been still for too many precious seconds already.  
Chest compressions were the most important, they were what would save her heart, but he knew they had to be hard. Sai leaned his weight into Sakura's chest, pumping her ribcage with all the force he could muster. Her body moved beneath his hands, her chest elastic, but the movement still required tremendous effort. He felt like screaming when one of her ribs broke against his palm, but kept moving anyway. The pace was frantic, but Sai forced himself to push her chest deep and allow enough time for recoil before pushing again. He counted, because he had been taught to, but the numbers made no difference. The artist's eyes were locked on the defribrillator, on the dim light that should be green.  
He pumped her chest for what seemed like an eternity, trying not to think about how still and cold she was. Naruto groaned a little, the tiny sound filled with terrible effort and Sai almost cried out in relief that the jinchuuriki was even still alive. Sai had forgotten to blink and his eyes were dry, blurring the still darkened indicator on the defribrillator. Seconds passed, too many, too many…  
Suddenly, the light brightened green and Sai slammed his hand against the shock button almost by reflex. The defribrillator beeped and Sai only managed to remove his limbs from Sakura's body by sheer luck, moving no more than a second before the shock jerked her. Her torso arched and convulsed with the electrical charge, straining the angle of her neck. As soon as her body thumped back against the floor Sai pressed his hand against her throat, searching for her carotid pulse, for the sign that her heart had started again, but Sakura's body was still and empty beneath his fingers. Somewhere in the darkness Sasuke was no longer moving. Sai began pumping her chest again, waiting for the machine to re-charge, counting from the beginning once again. Sakura's body flopped under his hands, heavy and dead, like meat. Sai shut his eyes. Sasuke had stopped screaming too. A sharp bolt of terror surged through Sai's chest at the thought and for a single awful moment he wondered if all of them were dead…  
Another rib cracked under his fingers and Sai did scream, but never stopped moving. He had to keep going, he had to keep her from dying. The light turned green once more and Sai pressed the shock button, holding his own body up and away from Sakura's flesh. The machine beeped and shocked her. Her body arched grotesquely up into an unnatural curve and then thumped back to the floor. Sai pressed his fingers to her neck, moving roughly, searching. There was rhythm, but he could not tell if the flutter was merely his own heartbeat pounding through his fingers. The artist pressed his ear between her breasts, wishing for the first time that he could hear like Kiba's big dog. He listened, holding his breath and wondering uselessly if he should move Sakura's breast in order to hear more clearly. There was a moment of awful silence and his own hitched breathing….and finally he heard it.  
A bare whisper of sound, but it was there. He could not shock her again, not if her heart was moving, but it might still be too late. Movement did not mean that the organ was pumping, but it was enough to send another heave of pure adrenaline through Sai's body. The artist moved quickly, hooking his fingers under Sakura's jaw bones and pulling forward to open her airway. He arched her head back, fingers tight against where her carotid pulse should be, would be soon if only her heart would beat! He pressed his lips against the girl's cool mouth, exhaling deeply into her lungs. The air filled her, expanding her chest and Sai worried about the ribs he had broken before. He worried, but not enough to stop. The ink nin gave her another breath and then another, desperately feeling for the pulse in her neck.  
Suddenly, the steady thrum of Sakura's blood beat against his hand, her pulse strong and steady. It was there, her pulse, really there and not just a figment of his own panicked body! Feeling giddy and light-headed from both oxygen deprivation and sheer terror, Sai gave her another breath. The girl's chest expanded deeply and the pulse remained so he gave her another. The girl coughed violently against his lips, gasping. The air being returned to him was ticklish and Sai laughed madly to feel it. Sai sat back, his left hand moving automatically to rest between her breasts, feeling her heart pound resonantly against his fingers. She was alive, she was breathing. The girl coughed again and groaned, sounding breathless. Sai felt his entire body tremble at the sound, teeth chattering with elation and panic and adrenaline…too much, too much feeling…  
"Sakura?" He asked and his voice was much hoarser than he had thought it would be.  
She blinked, gasping and wincing in pain as her lungs pressed against her broken ribs. For what seemed like an eternity the girl breathed, inhaling and exhaling harshly in the darkness, and Sai waited. Sakura shut her eyes and swallowed, groaning a little, her face wet with sweat and still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Sakura's hand moved to cover his own against her chest and Sai remembered to breathe again. He gathered her into his arms, kissing her face desperately, heedless of the whistling air of her breathing or her broken bones. She was alive. Sakura had survived, just as she promised him. She was with them, she had not left them, the girl was alive.  
"Sakura…?" Sai choked, feeling his eyes fill with moisture again.  
"I'm here baby." She croaked.  
"I…I thought…Sakura…I thought…" Sai sobbed, pressing his face into her hair.  
"It's okay. We're okay." The girl soothed him in a dry whisper.  
"Naruto and Sasuke…Sasuke was screaming…"  
"It's okay."  
"But they were screaming…" Sai whispered, terrified.  
"They are safe. They are here, with me." The girl managed with a cough, gesturing weakly to her chest.  
"You keep them… in your heart?" Sai asked, cocking his head and still crying.  
"I keep you there too." Sakura whispered and smiled.  
OoOoOoO  
Neji awoke slowly, his entire being surrounded by warmth and his head aching badly. There was light behind his eyelids, bright like sunlight and warm too. The heat spread over the skin of his face and belly, radiant and almost too hot, penetrating his body to soothe the aching muscles within. Someone's heartbeat beat was steadily thumping against his ear and the sound was so viscerally comforting that the Hyuuga almost forgot about his headache and fell asleep again. Neji opened his eyes, hissing softly in pain as the bright sunlight invaded his sleep weakened corneas, and tried to remember what he had been doing before. His mind felt muzzy, memories indistinct, but he knew he had been doing something important…  
"Sakura!" Neji gasped, bolting up and awake.  
"Shhh, I'm here." Came a playful voice to his left.  
Neji turned abruptly, breathing hard, to see Sakura seated comfortably on a cushion only a few feet from where he lay. She smiled at him, just a bit mischievously, fanning herself lightly with a large sandalwood fan. Neji stared and rubbed his eyes, tried to remember how to breathe, and then stared some more. He was dreaming. She had to be a dream because Neji clearly remembered that he and Sasuke had failed, that Sakura had died there in the darkness. Sakura met his eyes and laughed softly, her face even more beautiful than he remembered, the entire room fully and heady with her presence. He looked at her again, unwilling to use the Byukugan in case the gorgeous apparition faded and he was left alone in the blackness once more. The girl's face was rosy with health and she was smiling radiantly, dressed in a kimono of the deepest red, decorated with sparkling pink damask depicting the fragile blossoms of her own namesake. The heat, the color, her smile was almost overwhelming after so many days in the dingy twilight of a house slowly dying. Nothing seemed real and yet the fiction was better, too lovely to forsake. The sunlight filling the room made her long pink hair sparkle like water in a bubbling stream and Neji was certain for a moment if she was merely an illusion. Nothing real could be so beautiful.  
"Sakura? Are we dead?" He asked helplessly.  
"No. We're all alive, thanks to you." She said, smiling and bowing low on her knees before him, forehead pressed to the tatami in the deepest expression of respect.  
"Ah! No! Please…please don't…" Neji fumbled helplessly, moving to stop her only to discover that he was hopelessly pinned.  
Neji finally managed to tear his eyes away from Sakura long enough to notice the comfortable tangle of limbs he was currently lying amongst. Naruto's whisker-marked face, only a few bare inches from his own twitched a bit as he slept. The Hyuuga's own head had been pillowed against Naruto's waist even as the blond slept half wrapped around Sasuke. Sai was there as well, sleeping tight and small against Naruto's back with one hand wrapped possessively around Sasuke's ankle and the other looped around the blond's chest. The others were still deeply asleep, though Naruto did stir and mumble a bit at the unexpected movement. Neji blushed darkly.  
"Why…"  
"Tsunade thought it would be best if we let you guys sleep for a while. She must have figured you were already, well, acquainted and I didn't see any reason to move you." Sakura laughed softly, blushing a little.  
"Oh, um, yes…" Neji mumbled, trying delicately to move out of the warm heap of bodies without waking anyone.  
"Shhh, no need for that." Sakura whispered kindly, standing and moving to sit on the edge of the futon.  
The girl cupped Neji's cheek fondly, her fingers hot and strong against his face, and then pressed him back into the bed gently with a slow push against his chest. Astounded and still not entirely convinced that he was awake, Neji allowed her to move him, settling again against the muscular warmth of Naruto's side.  
"But, when they wake up…" Neji argued softly, blushing terribly.  
"You are where you are supposed to be. Go back to sleep." Sakura said softly, smiling lovingly at him.  
"Sakura?" Neji whispered, once again cuddled against the blond jinchuuriki despite his best intentions.  
"Yes?"  
"Are you… are you both okay?" Neji asked feeling his eyes burn and threaten tears as he looked at her.  
"Yes. You saved us. You and Sasuke saved us all." Sakura said, laying her hand affectionately against her own swollen belly.  
"Good, I'm glad." Neji finished, fighting back the tears and managing a placid smile for her.  
"Don't do that. Trying so hard not to cry just on principle is dumb. Tears are good for you, you know, they are one of the ways that the body releases stress." Sakura chided, stroking his cheek.  
"Right." Neji laughed bitterly.  
"Silly, just let them come…" She whispered.  
Despite his sarcasm, Neji's body obeyed her, the salty water dripping from his eyes in torrents to land against Naruto's feverish skin and to wet his own hair. Sakura brushed the moisture from his face, running her fingers through the tears as if the action was just what somebody did when a strange man in their bed suddenly started weeping. The thought made Neji cry even harder. Sakura smiled and stroked his face until he could breathe again, gently wiping the water away with the silken edge of her kimono. The silk smelled like flowers and the sandalwood of her fan.  
"You would make me weak, woman." Neji whispered, smiling a little.  
"Nothing can make you weak, Neji, nothing." She replied softly, but with far more conviction than he had expected.  
"Do you really believe that?"  
"Yes, I do." She said, smiling again.  
"If I were stronger, perhaps you wouldn't be able to make me feel this way." Neji breathed.  
"Oh?"  
"Like I can't wait to see you, like maybe I'm addicted to talking with you, looking at you…" Neji said softly.  
"That is sort of a strange way to feel…" Sakura acceded, looking a little concerned.  
"I…I need to speak with you, there is something that I have to say and I don't want to wait any longer." Neji whispered, suddenly afraid.  
"Tell me." She replied, but her hand never moved from his skin.  
Neji took a breath and tried to order his thoughts. Truly, simple words should never have been so difficult, but his belly was tight with fear. After all, he hadn't even been sure that he was in love with her until she was almost gone. Now, seeing her alive, Neji did not want to lose his chance again, but there was no language to describe how he felt about her. The feeling was complicated, subtle, and the best way he could describe it would be to liken the emotion to the affection someone had for their homeland combined with the fierceness of raw desire. He was attracted to her, but he was also strangely patriotic for her as well. Neji shut his eyes and moved to take Sakura's hand where it still rested against his cheek. The girl squeezed his fingers gently. She accepted him; looking past his talent to the tempestuous mess of his own personality and not looking away in disgust or fear. He had never known anyone before who could make him feel so soft without any hint of humiliation or challenge. Sakura valued him and made him feel like he could stop fighting without the act being a kind of surrender, in her presence it was like his spirit was finally granted reprieve to rest.  
He had loved a woman before, he was not some silly virgin in the throes of his first crush, but loving Sakura was so different than loving Anko had been. He could not love her with pretense or instinct and hope the appropriate sentiments just kind of sorted themselves out. Anko had allowed him to be ugly, to be emotional, selfish and violent without judgment. His sensei understood anger, perhaps better than anyone else alive, but even Neji could not deny that it was only the very worst part of his spirit that she really loved. She loved the darkness and the pride, which only fed his own vanity, without ever acknowledging his sincerity or honor. Anko had allowed him to be a person for the first time in his life, imperfect and furious, but Sakura inspired him. Sakura made him want to be more, to be better and not because she was demanding him to be. Sakura had seen his rage, he was convinced she saw everything, but she had seen his fervor and insecurities as well and treated every aspect of his personality as equally valuable. No one had simply accepted him that way before, no one knew him well enough to even try.  
With Anko he had said that he dreamed about her, that she turned his blood to fire, that she was intoxicating. While all those sentiments were still true of Sakura, such shallow protestations seemed cheap. Neji had never actually told Anko that he loved her and she would have laughed at him even if he had. The nature of their relationship left no room for vulnerability and a confession of love was worse than baring your throat. With Sakura, there was so much more to say. He wanted to tell her that a future without her seemed impossible, that the world was colorless without her. Neji wanted to express to her that, for the first time, he wanted to live and grow old because she made looking toward tomorrow okay and before he had never even thought past surviving one day to the next. He was, of course, tempted to abandon the idea and say nothing at all, but Sasuke had already pulled the truth out of him and so had Naruto. She deserved to know. Neji winced and licked his lips, trying to find a way to tell the woman who already had three men that he loved her as well.  
She sat beside him, green eyes watching him lazily, waiting patiently for him to speak as if she already knew exactly what he would say. Perhaps she did. Perhaps she knew everything. Naruto stirred against him and a deep well of emotion expanded within Neji's chest until he could barely breathe. Loving her was not just loving her after all, was it? To love her meant coming to grips with the strange, exotic,terrifying way that Naruto made him feel whenever he held him or touched him or even looked at him in a certain way. It meant trying to understand the dangerous, seductive power of Sasuke's beauty and the even more daunting intricacy of his mind, while at least attempting some kind of peace with Sai. Peace, he had come here for peace, and loving Sakura was nothing less than a lifelong commitment to spiritual peace with every member of her family. To love her, he had to love all of them and the worst part was that the Hyuuga knew there was an undeniable possibility that he already did…  
"I think I love you." Neji said at last.  
It was quite possibly the least romantic thing he had ever said to a prospective lover, but it was only the truth. Sakura's eyes widened and the perfumed breeze of the sandalwood fan ceased. Neji was suddenly far too hot and wondered if it was because the air was too still or because his blood vessels had stopped working. Sai whimpered in his sleep and Neji jumped a little. He could not have managed a worse moment really, but the girl smiled at him anyway and let the suddenly motionless sandalwood fan settle into her lap. For a long moment Neji merely lay against Naruto, listening to the jinchuuriki's steady breathing and watching her. Sakura looked at her hands, lips pressed tight together as she kept her own counsel for one of Naruto's heartbeats and then another. Neji wondered, far too late, if any of the others were awake and secretly listening. He hoped not.  
"I…I don't really know what to say." Sakura whispered at last.  
"You don't have to say anything, I just…I had to tell you." Neji finished lamely, closing his eyes and cursing his own stupidity.  
"I…I'm so honored that you…I mean, I so wanted but…I never thought that…I'm not making any sense." Sakura said with a sigh, biting her lip.  
"Are you…angry?" Neji asked, feeling suddenly very awkward.  
"No! No, I'm…I'm not at all! It…it's just different…very hard to describe."  
"I don't expect anything from you…"  
"With Naruto and Sasuke, even Sai, well, we have known each other for so long and… I really think that maybe I always loved them. I've been in love with them in one way or another since we were still kids and so…It's a little shocking I guess." Sakura said her green eyes full and a little nervous.  
"It's true you don't know me very well." Neji acceded, looking away and feeling foolish.  
"No, not really, but I think I might be in love with you anyway..." Sakura whispered, blushing darkly and hiding behind her fan.  
"What?" Neji was not sure he had heard her properly.  
"You saved me and, well…Sasuke would say that feeling that way makes me very stupid." The girl sighed.  
"That doesn't mean it's true." Neji said, feeling suddenly giddy.  
"Well, Neji Hyuuga, am I stupid for loving you?" Sakura asked, one eyebrow raised playfully as she curled a finger around a strand of his hair.  
"Kami…I hope not." He breathed and wondered what in the hell he was supposed to do now.  
OoOoOoO  
Hiashi Hyuuga passed Kiba Inuzuka in the outer walkway of the garden and barely restrained himself from sneering at him as the insipid brat fearlessly met his eyes and smiled. Well, less a smile and more of a smirk. Bit by bit Hinata's pet Inuzuka nuisance had grown accustomed to the Hyuuga way of life and he could now say as much with a glance or an expression as he could with twenty minutes of speech. The look, brief and only in passing, implied that the boy knew something important, something damning, and that he had already set events in motion to use the information to his best advantage. The little mongrel was sneakier than Hiashi had originally given him credit for.  
The Hyuuga clan leader had no idea what Kiba had done to save the child, Toki, but he was privately relieved that the little boy had survived and regained his health. Still, the fact that the child lived cast even greater doubt upon the nature of the mysterious illness and, further, put his own position at risk. He was seriously beginning to question Suki's reasoning in the poisoning, but perhaps his assassin had done as she originally planned and removed any evidence of foul play. It was true that, as she promised, Toki's illness had effectively shifted Kiba's focus away from the main house and outward towards the threat of possible foreign killers who did not, in fact, exist. There was an equal possibility that the boy's recovery indicated that Kiba already knew what was going on and had effectively countered the ploy. Such a possibility was irksome indeed.  
Hiashi schooled his face and walked purposefully across the complex, determined not to let his inner concerns show. Hinata seemed as poised and pitifully unobtrusive as ever and Hiashi did not think that his daughter had any notion of his plans, but the girl was also notoriously inscrutable. Hinata could keep secrets, of that he had no doubt, and Hiashi wondered what his daughter would choose to do with what she thought she knew. His instincts told him that something important had changed and also that Kiba's popularity with the rabble of the Hyuuga family was only growing, but Hiashi still lacked the perspective to fully understand what such a development might mean. His daughter and her wretched puppy were not the type to delve too deeply into intrigue, but that did not mean they were unaware of it.  
The day was still new and the hour early, but he already had far more problems to deal with than would have been ideal. Hiashi scowled and moved towards his private bathes. He usually bathed in the evening, but the Hyuuga clan leader was eager to have the private space to meditate on the tasks at hand without the chance of interruptions. There was much to consider and not all of it exclusive to his own family. A rumor was circulating that the Uzumaki matriarch had fallen deathly ill, but no one could substantiate the claim and Neji was still being held strictly in the Oni's own complex. If true, Sakura's illness may provide the opening he had been hoping for, but the rumor was vague and difficult to verify. There was simply no way to know the truth of the situation without speaking to Neji. True, his nephew had not really been with the demon very long, but Hiashi was still terribly eager to receive whatever information Neji might have gleaned. As usual, his brilliant nephew was one consolation that could always be counted upon to perform effectively and knowing that he already had a capable spy placed in the enemy's stronghold soothed his mind greatly. Soon, the little blond Oni and all his pack of monsters would be nothing more than an unpleasant memory and another captured banner hung on his wall.  
The bathing chamber was startlingly dark after walking through the sunlit garden and Hiashi allowed a few moments for his eyes to adjust before fully stepping into the space. A delicate aroma of incense filled the misty air and Hiashi enjoyed the tasteful glow of the few lamps set around the tub. The space had been designed with Hyuuga aesthetics in mind and so the tile and bathing fixtures were all brutally simple and elegant, soft grays and dark wood. The room was a soothing space and Hiashi knew as soon as he entered that, firstly, he was not alone and also that the company would be enjoyable. Smiling a bit at the thought, Hiashi stripped out of his formal robes and stepped into the steaming waters of the bath. He relaxed into the heat and waited patiently for Suki to cease her stalking. She did not make him wait long. The lithe form of the woman's body rose slowly out of the steaming water, fully nude and lovely as she bowed low before him. Hiashi smiled and gestured for her to come closer, appreciating that even in the water the assassin's movements made no sound.  
"Forgive my intrusion, my lord." Suki said, kneeling before him just as she would in any other room, heedless of the water lapping at her shoulders.  
"Luckily it is most welcome, so long as you bring relevant information." Hiashi replied. She nodded.  
"Your nephew, Neji, was seen outside the Uzumaki compound at the Konoha library two days ago. Forgive the late nature of the information, but I have been posted outside the Uchiha estate waiting to see if he might re-emerge again. Obviously, he was sent on some sort of directed errand with little opportunity for deviation." Suki reported.  
"That is not unexpected. They are testing his loyalty and it is likely that he was followed. You did well not to attempt contact with him."  
"Hai. Further, the Uzumaki matriarch was not as ill as some would claim. I saw her with the Hokage early this morning as Tsunade left the compound and she looked more than healthy and very pregnant. Perhaps another member of the family was ill, likely Sasuke since Sai has been seen recently as well." Suki said.  
"Interesting…If Sasuke is truly incapacitated, we may be provided a rare and valuable opportunity..." Hiashi mused.  
"Indeed, though nothing of that nature has been confirmed."  
"Regardless, I believe it will be prudent to wait. No need to sacrifice the integrity of our plan for the sake of mere impatience." Hiashi decided finally, reclining a bit.  
"I would agree, my lord. With his subordinate ill, the demon is likely even more vigilant than usual and twice as aggressive. The element of surprise will be very important to the success of our strategy." Suki said.  
"True. Information is the key in this and without reliable intelligence the endeavor will be difficult, if not impossible. If Neji is being allowed out of the complex, it will be appropriate to send for him now." Hiashi ordered.  
"My lord?"  
"When we have finished speaking, request for him to meet with me in two days' time. It is traditional to at least inquire about the well-being of a family member recently married in such a way. I doubt even Naruto's pet killer will be able to find grounds to refuse me." Hiashi explained.  
"The Uchiha will never allow him to come unescorted." Suki worried.  
"No matter. It is simple enough to separate Neji from an escort once he is within our walls. Judicious use of the appropriate forms of shadow clones and even Sasuke himself won't be able to tell the difference." Hiashi said, smiling darkly.  
"My lord is endlessly clever." Suki smiled.  
"One must be with so many threats at hand." Hiashi whispered lazily, twining his fingers into the woman's long hair.  
Just a shade or two lighter and the color would almost be like the radiant autumn crimson that still haunted his dreams on chilly nights. Suki's features where nowhere near to fine as Kushina's had been and her eyes were both the wrong shape and color, but if her hair were just the slightest bit more red he might have been able to pretend. The color had been what first caught his eye when Kushina Uzumaki came to Konoha, like a waterfall made of fire…  
"I will kill any who threaten you, my lord." Suki snarled, her silver eyes shining in the low light like an animal's.  
"The Oni is a formidable opponent and to defeat him will require careful planning and thorough execution. For now I can be patient, but soon we will not have the luxury of time." Hiashi murmured, lost in old memories.  
Suki, sensing his mood as always, moved into his lap and began to stroke the sensitive flesh stirring beneath the water. Hiashi sighed and relaxed into his assassin's touch, letting the pleasure seep into his body along with the heat from the bath. Her hands were clever and calloused, stimulating. Though Suki was certainly not a beauty of the caliber that Kushina had been, her body was just as lithe and graceful, certainly more so than his wife's. Hiashi brushed a hand lazily over her nipples, enjoying the softness of the supple flesh, still firm with youth. She had lovely breasts, large enough to comfortably hold, but not so big as to flop unattractively when she moved. He pinched her right nipple, rolling the sensitive flesh between his fingers. Hiashi smiled. Suki was more than two decades his junior and he had to confess that he appreciated the vigor of her body. Age had been unkind to his wife and even in her youth Yukamiyu had been plain, blandly pretty at best. His wife's body, if it had ever pleased him, held no appeal now. Suki at least shared his vision and understood his needs, something Yukamiyu had never had the capacity to do, and she fucked him with enthusiasm when he desired it. She was a remarkable ninja as well as a handsome woman in her own right and Yukamiyu was too stupid to realize that he was being unfaithful anyway. The Hyuuga lord had enjoyed having his assassin before and would do so again as long as she pleased him.  
Suki took a deep breath and bent low into the bath to run her tongue over his penis beneath the water. She licked the hardened flesh eagerly, lubricating him as best as possible before the water washed the fluids away. The sensation was erotic, almost ticklish, and Hiashi held her beneath the water another moment just to feel it again. If the assassin feared drowning, she gave no sign, and took him fully into her throat, moving her mouth up and down until he was forced to tug her up or cum prematurely. Her face was flushed from the heat and her silver Hyuuga eyes luminous with desire. She too was a cousin, he supposed, but the young killer was far more distantly related than even his own wife and it showed in the slight strangeness of her ruddy hair and high cheekbones. As the clan went, Suki could almost be considered exotic, if not quite exotic enough for his tastes.  
Hiashi grunted and gripped her hips, tiring quickly of the teasing. Suki licked her lips and mounted him, wincing just a little as she took his entire length in a single stroke as Hiashi preferred. The tight embrace of the girl's body was delightful and he could already feel his arousal build into a tight, erotic knot in his groin. Her hair was a sad kind of auburn, but all Hyuuga were born with darksome coloring anyway and the room was dark enough that the color was not too vexing. The assassin moved a hand behind her back and low to cup his testicles, sending a startling flash of heat up through his spine. Suki groaned and threw her head back, her dull reddish hair hanging in a sensuous wet curtain against her skin, perfectly rounded breasts thrust out enticingly for his hands. Hiashi squeezed the soft flesh and gripped her hip, pinching the nipple again roughly and rocking into her with as much force as the water would allow.  
Suki's belly clenched as she rode him, moving quickly enough to bring him to the edge and yet not quite with the right rhythm to make him cum. Hiashi smiled and lifted her more firmly against his body, spreading her legs wide and adjusting the angle to penetrate her more fully. Her hips were firm and rounded in his hands, just the shape he had always most admired, and if he closed his eyes he could almost imagine that the pouting mouth as Kushina's. Suki bit her lip as she came in utter silence, quivering in his arms, fearful to make a noise and shame him within hearing of his wife. Hiashi would have liked to hear her scream, but such wishes were only fleeting fantasies brought on by vanity. Appearances, of course, had to be maintained.  
Not that his wife would even know what an orgasm sounded like. Yukamiyu was well born and marrying her had pleased his parents, but she had never aroused his desire. The woman was as weak and stupid as Kushina had been powerful and brilliant, but Hiashi had no choice except to tolerate her. Some said his wife was beautiful and Hiashi had told her so as often enough to do his duty as a husband, but the fact remained that she was both quite homely and uninteresting. By marrying Yukamiyu he had secured his power over the clan, essential given the presence of his twin brother, and gained a wife whom he never wanted. How he had dreamed as a boy of laying with Kushina, of spreading her magnificent, fiery, hair across Hyuuga silk. Hiashi moaned and increased the pace of his thrusts, moving deeply into Suki, crushing her body against him. In another life, Kushina would have watched him in that peculiar way she had, only her eyes moving, as he ravished every inch of her beautiful body and claimed her as his own. The mere thought nearly brought him to climax. Suki whispered his name, her voice urgent and also pleading, but Hiashi was too caught up in the vision to care. He imagined Naruto's mother as she had been more than two decades ago, whiskered face playful and almost heart shaped, crimson hair wagging past her hips as she walked. He envisioned her trapped in his arms, struggling, and being overcome as her body opened to receive him…The image ignited the tightening ball of heat in his pelvis and the pressure was too great. Hiashi ejaculated with a sigh, pumping his essence deeply into Suki's willing body, closing his eyes to hold onto the fantasy for a moment longer.  
Madara, vile creature that he was, had at least been mostly right about the true source of Hiashi's hatred for Naruto. Even now, just looking at the young jinchuuriki, who was the very picture of his commoner father and yet still had the audacity to wear Kushina's smile, filled his belly with rage. Every time Naruto excelled, every time the blond won a match or completed an important mission, Hiashi felt deeply cheated. It was Kushina's blood in Naruto that gave the boy his abilities, despite his resemblance to Minato. It was her strength that gave the miserable little Oni the talent to overcome every obstacle Hiashi threw in his way, power of blood that should have been passed to his children, that should have brought him sons. Hiashi was clan head, the de facto leader of Konohakagure and one of the most powerful, feared ninja lords alive, but he had no male children. Siring a true heir to his house was the one accomplishment he had never been able to achieve and he had always privately wondered if it was because he had married the wrong woman. Years passed and still Yukamiyu had only given him two weak girls. He knew, in a private place in his heart, that Kushina should have been his woman and Naruto should have been his son, not the bastard spawn of a yellow haired butcher's brat. Minato had never deserved her and yet Kushina had loved him so…  
"I love you, my lord." Suki panted softly, nuzzling his jaw.  
"You are a singular pleasure, my Suki. You excel in everything." Hiashi replied, kissing her hair.  
Suki smiled at the compliment and moved to clean herself of the evidence of his passion. Without fail, his favorite assassin had managed to turn an irritating morning into an enjoyable experience as well as bring valuable reconnaissance. Even if they had kept Neji locked in a room, his nephew was as resourceful as he was brilliant and Hiashi had no doubt that the boy had succeeded in obtaining the information as required. Neji never failed his mission. Uzumaki had powerful friends and his little raven haired fiend was not an opponent to be trifled with, but he would fall regardless. With the information Neji had obtained, they could wipe Naruto and the Fox demon he carried within from the world forever. Hiashi finished his bath, allowing Suki to wash his hair, in silence as he mused. The difficulty would be timing. If they attacked too soon, strategy would suffer and the jinchuuriki might manage to survive, but if they moved too late the consequences would be even worse.  
"We have little time, my Suki." Hiashi murmured, almost to himself.  
"Hai, the child will be born soon." The assassin agreed as she rinsed his hair.  
"We have three months at best to act before the creature spawns and once it is born, Uzumaki's position will be far more stable and difficult to topple."  
"Perhaps the baby may serve us as a distraction or a hostage?" Suki offered. Hiashi shook his head.  
"No, it must be done before the birth. With an heir, the creature can form true alliances through marriage with the other houses or with Gaara. Even we could not afford to attack an opponent backed by the full might of Suna. We must eliminate him, Suki, or Naruto will rule Konoha as Gaara does Sand." Hiashi growled.  
"As you command." She whispered darkly and his knew it was a promise.  
OoOoOoO  
Naruto sighed as he brushed the damp strands of his wife's glittering pink hair over her shoulder to place a kiss upon her spine. Sakura sighed and trembled against his lips and the jinchuuriki thought he might burst into tears again just to hear it, just to hear the small sound of pleasure and know that she was still alive. Having a bath had seemed like a decent idea, after all no one had bothered to bathe while Sakura was ill and it was better than simply sitting in bed and staring at each other. Neji tried to decline, but Sakura had pulled him along as well and now they all sat in the steaming water of the vast Uchiha family soaking tub, silently trying to come to terms with…everything. The whole situation seemed surreal with the distant sunlight filtering through the cleverly designed, faceted windows and the warm water just misty enough to obscure one another's bodies. He had always thought it sort of weird to have so much natural light in a bathing area, but Sasuke's ancestors had apparently discovered the singular magic of bathing under moonlight and built the place accordingly. The jinchuuriki would have preferred moonlight, the sun seemed abrupt in such an intimate place.  
Naruto stole a glance at Neji, noting the way the Hyuuga sat off to the side and deep in the water, as if to make himself as unobtrusive as possible. The silver-eyed nin washed his hair, the motions slow and a bit listless, as if deeply lost in thought. Neji looked gorgeous with his long hair wet and draping sensuously around his body, the forehead protector still firmly tied on his brow. The bandana was going to get wet, Naruto knew, but he decided not to pester Neji about it for now. As it was the Hyuuga seemed separate, isolated, and Naruto did not want to do anything else to drive him away. He might be distant, but Neji was still here, with them, still close enough to run his fingers across Sakura's arm beneath the water, close enough to touch her breasts if he wanted. The jinchuuriki sighed and moved to rinse the jasmine scented body wash off of Sakura's back, reveling in her skin.  
He was really happy that Sasuke's parents had decided on a ridiculously huge western style bath for their personal bathroom and still felt mildly awed at the size of the damn thing. All five of them fit comfortably in the tub and there was even a drain for moments like today when they wanted to wash and soak at the same time. The rosy marble of the tub contrasted beautifully with the ancient bamboo of the the walls and the soft beige tiles on the floor. Like every room in the Uchiha manor, the family bath was a work of careful craftsmanship and seamless taste. It was also one of the few rooms left entirely unchanged. Naruto knew that the bath was comforting for Sasuke, still just the way it had been when he was a child, and he was glad some small part of the raven's childhood had managed to survive.  
Even now, being in the bath seemed to calm him and Sasuke leaned unconsciously into Sai's clever hands as the artist washed him. Neji brushed his fingers over Sakura's arm again, almost covertly, shivering just a little at the soft sound of contentment that the girl made. All of them touched her, stroked her skin and her hair, silent and fascinated. Sasuke pressed his forehead against Sakura's own, breathing deeply as if he had been running a long distance, hands trembling where they rested on her jaw. Naruto reached over her shoulders to steady Sasuke's palms with his own, leaning his cheek against the smoothness of Sakura's back and enjoying the ruddy flush that the hot water brought to her skin. They stayed that way for a while, perhaps even a very long time, and the only movement was the soft lapping of the water as Sai washed Sasuke's back and Neji moved to comb his own long hair. Slowly, Sakura moved from her seat on Naruto's lap and into Sasuke's arms, reaching past him to pull Sai into the embrace as well. Sai said nothing, but he moved to clutch her hand with white knuckled urgency and Naruto knew that he had been very afraid.  
On some level the jinchuuriki was still afraid himself, afraid that all of it might simply vanish, that if he closed his eyes for even a moment he might open them again and find only blackness. Everything had been so dark for so long, with no end in sight and now… The emotion threatened to overwhelm him and Naruto had the unreasonable urge to gather them all into his arms, to pull them close and tight and never let go again. Sasuke's breath hitched a fraction against Sakura's throat, as if mirroring his alpha's thoughts, and Naruto reached out to stroke the raven's cheek and soothe him.  
The blond wanted to tell his subordinate that everything was alright now, that they had won, that the awful blackness threatening to swallow them was gone, that they were finally safe. He wanted to tell Sai that no one would leave him alone, that it was not like in Root where people went down and never stood back up again. Naruto wanted to thank Neji and find some way to tell him that he was home, that there was no reason to feel alone anymore. There was far too much to say, so many things had happened and everyone was walking on eggshells, trying not to disturb the fragile peace that they had all awoken to. To Naruto, everything still felt like a dream, a beautiful dream.  
He smoothed his thumb along Sasuke's cheekbone, smearing the tears he found there before the raven finally jerked his face away from Naruto's hand and bit the offending fingers, annoyed at his own vulnerability. Naruto smiled. He was reasonably sure that Sasuke would not try to bite him in his dreams and positive that it would not hurt as much. The girl smiled at the blond over her shoulder and leaned back to kiss his mouth, the act both affectionate and teasing.  
"Everyone's been so quiet." Sakura whispered and Neji jumped a little where he sat just behind Naruto's left shoulder.  
"No one knows what to say." The Hyuuga replied, hiding his eyes a little in the mahogany curtain of his hair.  
"I'm okay, I'm fine, Tsunade checked and everything." Sakura laughed.  
"You almost died." Neji growled quietly.  
"I said I'm okay." Sakura sighed, rolling her eyes.  
"You should have told us sooner! Stupid!" Sasuke snarled, swallowing hard, fingers tight on Sakura's shoulders.  
"Teme…" Naruto cautioned.  
Saving Sakura's life just to shout at her seemed counterproductive, even if he did echo Sasuke's feelings on the matter more than he would have liked to admit. Once again, the girl had been a lot sicker than she let on and this time her silence had almost cost their woman her life. Sasuke glared at him over her shoulder, but the look had far too much pain in it to be really convincing. Sakura dropped her eyes anyway as she held him.  
"I didn't think it would get so bad…" She muttered into the skin of Sasuke's jaw.  
"Well, it did." Sasuke hissed, still hugging her closely.  
"I just didn't want to worry anybody and…"  
"Baby, you have to know we were worried anyway." Naruto scolded, running his knuckles over her spine.  
"We can't lose you, we can't do it." Sai added, his flat voice barely audible in the damp air.  
"We're ninja, sometimes all our lives are in danger and this was no different…" Sakura argued softly.  
"I hope you know that if you die, they all die with you." Neji added coldly.  
"What?" Sakura asked, eyes suddenly wide and frightened.  
"The link you share with Naruto, his chakra is too connected with yours to harmonize properly on his own. His body no longer remembers how to maintain homeostasis without your influence. It's a side effect of your bonding and if he dies everyone under his thrall dies with him." Neji explained, his brows tight and angry.  
"Kami…How do you know this?" Sakura breathed.  
"He's been studying our energy for weeks now and he's too smart not to have figured it out. The Fox just told me recently and he probably figured it out before I did." Naruto said, watching the Hyuuga steadily.  
"Yes." Neji confessed, nodding uncomfortably.  
"The Byukugan." Sai said and Neji nodded again.  
"Sasuke…I…I thought I could control it. It thought if I just focused enough that I might get better and it did work for a while…" Sakura explained, looking down.  
"Don't you EVER dare do something so stupid again! Ever!" Sasuke snapped and pulled her against his chest, muscles tensed as he held her.  
"I'm sorry…" Sakura mumbled, obviously upset.  
"It's alright, Teme. We're alright." Naruto said softly, his tone the same one would use to soothe a spooked animal.  
"Fuck you." Sasuke spat and nuzzled his face closer against Sakura's throat.  
Naruto sighed and smiled a little. Definitely not a dream. Dreams did not bite much or tell you to fuck off. Sakura kissed Sasuke's temple and apologized again. After a few tense heartbeats, his arms relaxed around her and the girl sighed in relief, knowing that he was no longer angry. Sai buried his face against Sasuke's shoulder, holding Sakura's hand. For a while the three of them kissed and touched and breathed together, coming down from the days of terror. Gently, almost worshipfully, Naruto moved the sponge over Sakura's back, washing her skin in smooth, sudsy circles. Sakura sighed and arched herself into the attention, all rosy skin and tempting curves, more luscious than anything he could easily imagine. Sasuke still looked a little upset, but he gripped her hips and helped her stretch back, cushioning her swollen belly against his own. Sakura smiled and twisted just a little until her lower back cracked. She sighed in satisfaction. Naruto purred and laid a hand affectionately onto her right breast, enjoying the buoyancy of the soft flesh in the water. Sai moved from Sasuke's back and placed a gentle and extremely intentional kiss against Sakura's belly, almost as if in apology. Naruto raised an eyebrow at the behavior, but Sakura smiled at him reassuringly and ruffled Sai's hair.  
Naruto stroked Sai's cheek, surprised when the ink nin took his fingers awkwardly into his mouth and set his teeth against the joints. The action was something he would have expected from Sasuke, something the raven often did when their play was rough, but with Sai it was almost kittenish. Naruto giggled a little and licked his lips, looking over to where Neji watched them reservedly. He caught the Hyuuga's eyes and gave him a wide smile, but Neji just blushed and looked away. Sai released his fingers with a funny little almost-smirk and moved to bite Sasuke roughly on the ear.  
"Ow." Sasuke said, slapping Sai gently on the cheek in reproach.  
"You do it to Naruto." The artist argued.  
"So?"  
"So, don't you like it?" Sai asked, blinking.  
"I don't like it when you do it. Fucking shark…" Sasuke grumbled.  
"Does Naruto like it?" Sai asked.  
"Ask him yourself." Sasuke huffed.  
"Naruto, do you like it when…"  
"Not always. Be gentle." Naruto replied in what he hoped was a stern voice, fighting not to laugh.  
"Naruto says you like things a lot more than you say." Sai noted, moving towards Sasuke again.  
Sasuke blushed brightly at that and smacked the artist once more, but Sai weathered the blow as if he had been struck with a bit of dandelion down and crept towards Sasuke's ear again. The artist licked his lips and the motion was positively evil. Sasuke scowled and turned so his hand was within easy striking distance of Sai's face. Sakura moved strategically, trying to place herself between them before Sai managed to try Sasuke's patience too much.  
"I think you like it." Sai whispered his voice surprisingly husky.  
"I think you want to die." Sasuke growled, showing his teeth.  
"Naruto says you're not always honest about how you feel." Sai stated, unafraid, and slithered closer.  
"Sai, I don't really think that this is one of those times…" Sakura hedged gently, trying to pry the two men apart without looking too obvious.  
Naruto laughed and caught Neji's eyes once again. The jinchuuriki beckoned gently, just tipping his head a bit towards where Sakura was trying to keep Sai from biting Sasuke, a small gesture of welcome that Neji could ignore if he so chose. The Hyuuga stiffened, silver eyes uncertain, glancing towards where the others played and back into his own reflection in the water. For a moment the jinchuuriki thought he might simply turn away or even leave the bath entirely, but Neji took a harsh breath through his nose and came towards him. Naruto smiled. The genius moved a little closer and traced his fingers tentatively along Sakura's arm, silver eyes shuttered and inscrutable. Sakura caught his hand and kissed the palm, looking warmly into Neji's eyes before turning back to Sai and yanking the ink nin away from Sasuke once again. Naruto's eyes followed the three of them fondly as the near violence dissolved into frenzied kissing instead, Sasuke holding Sakura in one arm and Sai in the other.  
Neji stayed beside him, watching as well and worrying his lower lip with his teeth. Naruto moved a little nearer to him, closing the space inch by inch, giving Neji opportunity to retreat if he wanted without looking weak. Neji met his eyes, the silver both nervous and a bit aggressive.  
"May I?" Naruto whispered, holding the Hyuuga's gaze.  
"H…Hai." Neji replied, his voice barely audible.  
The jinchuuriki grinned and reached towards him to grasp a long strand of mahogany hair, running the silken length through his fingers appreciatively. Neji's expression was surprised and perhaps even a little disappointed, but Naruto restricted the touch to just the one lock of hair, taking his time to enjoy the texture and color.  
"Beautiful." The jinchuuriki whispered and Neji swallowed.  
"I guess."  
"It is, really beautiful. It's like silk…" Naruto replied softly.  
He brought the dark brown tress to his lips, kissing it slowly, before releasing the heavy softness back into the water with a sigh. The Hyuuga watched him, eyes large and luminous. The others had moved closer during the exchange, observing nervously, saying nothing. After a few trance-like moments, Sasuke ran a finger through Neji's hair, capturing a strand of it as well. The raven looked at Neji, eyes firm and intense, before kissing the brunette's hair as his alpha had before. Sakura went as far as to press a kiss to Neji's jaw, her full breasts brushing his shoulder deliciously and sending an aching spear of arousal through Naruto's already overheated body. Sai came close as well, stroking his fingers through Neji's hair with the curiosity of a child, savoring the smoothness of it. Neji stared at them like a deer might a pack of wolves, trying not to look as overwhelmed as he clearly felt. Naruto chuckled softly and gestured discretely to Sakura who smiled her understanding and moved to pour shampoo into her hair, making a show of arching her back and rubbing the suds into her scalp.  
Naruto moved to help her, tangling his fingers in the soapy rose-colored tresses, and soon Sai followed, holding Sakura close in his arms and kissing her. Sasuke shot one last meaningful look at Neji and began scrubbing Sai's back roughly with one of the natural sponges Naruto had brought back for them from Wave.  
"Too rough." Sai complained softly against Sakura's mouth.  
"Sai, you're just saying that because he wouldn't let you bite him." Sakura huffed, rolling her eyes and nipping the artist's jaw gently.  
"It is." The ink nin argued petulantly.  
"Shut up. I can tell from your chakra that you like it anyway." Sasuke sniped.  
Sai ignored him, but arched his back up into the scrubbing as Sasuke rolled his eyes and continued washing him. For a while, Naruto washed Sakura's hair in silence and Neji used a small bucket to pour the water over her mane and rinse the soap away. Sakura pressed Sai's knuckles to her lips and pulled back a bit, drifting in the shared embrace, her face serene. Neji leaned forward and brushed a kiss against Sakura's shoulder, a fleeting gesture with barely more pressure than a butterfly's wings. The Hyuuga loved her, it was obvious now, and seeing the affection warmed Naruto deeply. Everything would be alright, they would find balance again and everyone would be happy, he had to believe it.  
The blond wanted to reach out to Neji, to touch and stroke him as he would the others, but he didn't trust himself to remain well enough in control with no way to predict how Neji might respond. The Hyuuga had been thrust into this, with even less understanding of their dynamic than Sai, and had a tendency to vacillate between acting like a domineering ass and separating himself entirely. Sasuke watched the interaction, watched Neji kiss Sakura, but said nothing and that was peculiar as well. The raven was being far more tolerant of Neji's inclusion into the pack than Naruto ever would have expected and the jinchuuriki wondered if the behavior was entirely healthy.  
Everything was too delicate and his family needed more time to adjust. Naruto leaned back against the edge of the tub and watched the Hyuuga with slitted eyes, ready to intervene if Sasuke took offense or Sai decided to do something weird. The angle gave him the opportunity to fully appreciate the elegant beauty of his newest subordinate. Neji's body was gorgeous, the line of his arms and thighs long and inhumanly graceful. Naruto's gaze moved languidly to the man's naked back where sleek muscle moved temptingly beneath smooth, creamy skin the tone of which held a hint more gold the Sasuke's. Naruto knew most people would have said that Neji was comely, but not beautiful the way Sasuke was. The Hyuuga was a little too tall, perhaps, his shoulders not quite broad enough to achieve symmetry with the length of his waist, but Naruto found Neji's body almost irresistible.  
The Hyuuga's arms were graceful and well defined, his muscles firm and strong. Neji had frightening scars on his right forearm, blanched lines that crossed over and over one another as if from many years of wounds. The jinchuuriki had a niggling suspicion that the scarring was from many years of merciless sparing with a partner who used sharpened weapons even to practice and it was no wonder that the Hyuuga spent most of his time carefully wrapped in bandages to hide the marks. Naruto wondered what the texture of the raised skin would be like against his tongue, if the scars were still sensitive to touch. He hoped so. Sakura moved back into his lap, twisting her clean hair up into a bun and exposing her full breasts above the water. Naruto swallowed and shut his eyes tightly for a moment, struggling for control as his claws lengthened dangerously against her skin. Kami, it would take so little, a single movement and he could be inside her, but doing so might disrupt the delicate balance of her body again. He groaned.  
"It makes you sick when you do that, you know." Sakura commented.  
"I'm okay." Naruto whispered, removing his hand from her hip with a sigh.  
"For a man with so many beautiful subordinates, you are remarkably undersexed." Sakura chuckled.  
Neji blushed furiously were he sat beside her and nearly dropped the soap. Naruto almost laughed to see the proud Hyuuga so unguarded, but managed to keep his composure and avoid having to dislodge Neji's fist from his face. Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at the brunette from where he sat on Sakura's other side, his expression both amused and filled with challenge. Something was going on between the two of them and Naruto knew he had better figure out what before the unspoken conversation went much farther. The jinchuuriki glanced at Neji, certain that Sasuke's sarcasm had been directed at him, hoping that the delicate peace of the last few hours would hold. The Hyuuga stiffened, but said nothing and sunk down into the tub until only his eyes were above the surface of the water.  
"It's true. You need to sleep with someone." Sasuke said.  
"Are you volunteering?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"If I must." Sasuke said, looking pointedly at Neji.  
Neji coughed a bit, uncomfortable, but kept his silence. Naruto sighed and tried not to think about how beautiful Sasuke and Sai looked together with Sai pressed up against the raven's body, the artist's talented fingers lazily stroking Sakura's breasts. The jinchuuriki was painfully aroused, but the timing just was not right. Sai was still too unfamiliar with his own flesh and Sasuke looked painfully tired and very pale. Even if Sakura seemed to be completely recovered, Naruto knew the raven was not quite up to making love yet. They needed to rest and recover, all of them.  
"It's no big deal." Naruto said, shrugging.  
"You look awful and I can tell you have a headache." Sakura argued.  
"Everyone gets headaches sometimes, woman." Naruto huffed, closing his eyes.  
"I want to have sex with you." Sai stated suddenly.  
"Shut up. Moron." Sasuke chided, slapping the artist sharply on the chest.  
"I do. I want to." He said again.  
"No you don't. You want to wait so that when it happens you don't die." Sasuke growled, putting a hand over Sai's mouth.  
"So, the heat causes you physical pain?" Neji asked delicately, glancing toward him.  
"I just get headaches and stuff, nothing serious." Naruto replied, grinning. Sasuke rolled his eyes.  
"Liar. Even now it's making you miserable and there's no point denying it, I already warned him and you do look like shit." Sasuke huffed imperiously.  
"Thanks, Teme." Naruto replied sarcastically.  
"Well, Sasuke told me a little about your um…sexual needs. I really do want to understand…" Neji said, licking his lips nervously.  
"He feels sick if he doesn't get enough sex during a heat. Simple. It's a pain in the ass." Sasuke griped.  
"Literally." Sakura snickered.  
"Only for me." Sasuke snapped, glaring at her.  
"What does that mean?" Sai asked blankly. Naruto groaned.  
"This is my point entirely!" Sasuke snapped, pointing at Sai.  
The artist had made it perfectly clear ever since waking earlier that morning that he sincerely wanted to sleep with Naruto, but it was equally obvious that he had no idea what such an act would entail. Moreover, Naruto was still unsure whether the ink nin would be able to handle the reactions of his own body in an emotional context as well as a physical one. Sex was an emotional experience for anyone, much less someone who had never even experienced physical affection until a few short weeks ago. Sai knew practically nothing about physical intimacy and Naruto was totally at a loss as to where to start, worried that the ink nin might not survive his claiming he wasn't properly prepared.  
"I want to have sex with you. I want to be under the thrall and I'm not afraid." Sai said, shoving Sasuke's hand away from his mouth again.  
"I'm not having sex with anybody." Naruto snarled, annoyed.  
"It will make you feel better." Sai argued.  
"Sai, it's kind of a big deal, okay? It isn't like taking an aspirin or something." Naruto snapped, rubbing the bridge of his nose.  
"Sai, baby, I don't think that you know what you're asking for." Sakura said gently.  
"I don't care. I want it. I don't want to be left behind." Sai said.  
"Sakura…" Naruto groaned, pleading for help.  
"I really feel fine, you know, and I certainly wouldn't mind a little intimacy. It's been awhile." Sakura purred, leaning back against his chest.  
"Stop it. I'm not sleeping with anyone until things are better sorted out. Believe it." Naruto groaned.  
"He's worried about disrupting your chakra, the heat was what threw your system out of balance in the first place." Neji said, stroking her cheek. Sakura rolled her eyes.  
"Even Tsunade said it would be fine." She grumbled.  
"Well, things are still…I dunno…Time's not right I guess." The jinchuuriki muttered, looking away.  
"I want to have sex with you." Sai repeated.  
"No one forgot." Sasuke sniped testily.  
"Sai, I'm still a little worried about that. I can barely kiss you without it getting all…weird." Naruto argued.  
"Weird?" The artist asked blankly.  
"Weird as in you always act like you're terrified or about to have a seizure or something..." Sasuke clarified grumpily.  
"I just don't want it to break. I think it would be sharp if it does, like shrapnel." Sai explained.  
"Break? Does anyone have any idea what he's talking about?" Neji asked, mystified.  
"No one asked for your opinion." Sai said icily.  
"It was just a question." Neji muttered defensively.  
"Enough." Sasuke hissed and the others fell quiet.  
"Sai, what are you worried about breaking?" Sakura asked gently.  
"I don't know. Something old inside…" He replied vaguely.  
Neji raised an eyebrow at that, but said nothing and Sasuke frowned. Sakura looked closely at Sai, as if she could determine the source of his fears just from looking, brushing the damps strands of the artist's hair away from his face. Naruto tried school his expression and disguise the fact that he his headache was getting worse. He knew that Sai was upset, but he really had no idea what the artist was talking about.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the threat of Sakura's death overcome, the Uzumaki clan turns inwards to focus on the needs and harmony of the newest members. Sai explores his sexuality and Naruto introduces Neji to his idea of a night out.

In regards to the treatment of other demons by the Jinchuuriki, it is generally known that the demon vessels enjoy a rather temperate relationship with their brethren and rarely come into conflict with true demons. It is rather notable, however, that the Jinchuuriki do not mate with other demons of any subtype, under any circumstances. The reasons for this are likely less a matter of biologic compatibility than a matter of energetic insusceptibility of true demons to the power of the thrall, which does appear to be essential for successful Jinchuuriki mating behavior. The life force energy of true demons is distinct from that of humans and thus able to resist the synchronization of the thrall and repel the sexual advances of a Jinchuuriki. Some even theorize that in such an unnatural mating, the energetic harmonization might work in reverse to place the Jinchuuriki within an unnatural thrall to the creature's demon partner, a circumstance mostly likely incompatible with life.  
-Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons  
"This…has too many laces." Neji grumbled, holding out the shirt in front of him with a wince.  
"Naruto likes laces." Sasuke muttered from where he leaned against the wall on the other side of the room.  
"Why?"  
"Who fucking knows." Sasuke spat.  
Neji sighed and looked at what appeared to be a shirt in something like three pieces pulled together with black leather laces the way a woman's corset might be. It was not unseemly or down-right repulsive, but the shirt with its profusion of laces was certainly not the sort of thing he would have ever chosen on his own. He had found the clothing waiting for him on the bed when he came back to his room after sparring with the others earlier that afternoon and wondered what such a thing might mean. Sasuke appeared only a few minutes later to inform him rather tersely that the blond wanted to go out and that attendance was not optional. The raven had then stormed off to shower and dress leaving Neji to contemplate Naruto's choice in clothing and wonder why Sasuke was so angry. He had not been given the luxury of puzzling on the mystery for very long before Sakura stopped by his room to give him a hair tie, ask if he had seen Sasuke and tell him that she and Sai were going to stay home. She said that they were going to take the opportunity to 'discuss things', which may or may not mean trying to introduce the artist to sex, Neji had not quite had the courage to ask.  
She further advised that Sasuke was sure to be cranky and to try not to take anything he said personally. According to Sakura, the Naruto's desire to occasionally go on dates was a bit of a point of contention between them and she hinted that Sasuke was never terribly amenable to leaving the house for any reason. Mulling over the girl's advice, Neji had nearly finished drying his hair when Sasuke returned to the room and proceeded to sulk in the far corner while he dressed. He had not seen Sai since practice and figured that the artist was with Naruto, which could be a very bad thing if the ink nin wanted to hold onto his virginity long enough for Sakura to explain to him what it was. Life as a fully accepted member of the family was, apparently, rather complex.  
"Where are we going?" Neji asked.  
"Just get dressed." Sasuke snapped, crossing his arms.  
The Hyuuga was willing to bet that Sasuke was not someone who appreciated surprises and that Naruto's idea of a good date included keeping the details to himself, which might explain the raven's temper. The little blond had always preferred spontaneity and he figured that dating would be no different, even if the outfit implied that his alpha had given the excursion far more thought than Neji would have originally expected. His alpha…Kami, when had he started thinking of the jinchuuriki that way? The shock of the realization almost made him want to laugh, but Sasuke was watching and life was strange enough already without having to explain bursts of inappropriate humor to a serial killer. True, the Hyuuga was a little hesitant about the whole idea. He had never actually 'gone out' with anyone before, and certainly not someone like Naruto. Anko required total secrecy and he had never even considered trying to go out with Hinata. Neji tried to imagine how a date with his cousin might have been, only to discover that he found the entire notion totally annoying. A date with Naruto on the other hand…the idea was at least pleasantly intriguing.  
In addition to a profusion of laces, the shirt also had a built in mask that he could pull over his nose and tie in place behind his skull, which would be awkward around his hair. Sasuke was wearing a mask also, the emphasis the garment placed on his eyes only making the man's scowl look even more menacing. Neji glanced to where Sasuke was standing, wondering what to do when he remembered that Sakura had given him a way to tie his hair up and out of the way of the mask. Neji pulled his hair into a tail, combing back the stray pieces, and securing it with the rubber band Sakura had given him. He smiled fondly. She really did seem to know everything. The shirt came next, remarkably comfortable and an attractive shade of forest green even if it was rather…much. He should have known. Naruto loved things that were loud and so his taste in clothing certainly would not be any different.  
"Hurry up." Sasuke snarled, red sharingan eyes glowing over the edge of his mask.  
"Be patient, there isn't any rush." Neji said softly, trying to placate him.  
"The sooner we're gone, the sooner we can come back." The raven grumbled.  
Neji shrugged and pulled out the armored arm guard Naruto had given him. Only one armguard, obviously fitted for the right arm, and designed to be secured over the middle finger. The garment was obviously more than decorative with a well sewn Kevlar lining and steel guards made to look like fish scales over the lower surface. It was meant to replace his bandages, Neji discovered with a start, and that meant that the gift was far more…intentional…than he had initially thought. He swallowed. Neji wanted to ask Sasuke about the clothes and about the date and about what Sakura was going to do with Sai, but he was not quite sure how. The raven haired killer had been surprisingly quiet in the week that had passed since saving Sakura, sitting silently when they ate or exercised or when Naruto pulled him into a kiss. Neji blushed at the thought. The blond was obviously sexually frustrated, but he still restricted himself, trying to give everyone enough time to find their balance again. It was nice, sort of, except that there were so many moments were Naruto looked at him and Neji could practically feel himself being devoured anyway, when he pulled Sasuke into his lap like a drowning man might clutch onto a piece of driftwood. There was so much, so much emotion between everyone, like a boiling undercurrent to every conversation. Neji licked his lips and pulled on the arm guard, still feeling naked without the bandages.  
"Why do you bother to cover it up?" Sasuke asked, gesturing to Neji's right arm.  
"Habit, I guess." Neji whispered.  
"Most ninja like to display their scars."  
"Do you display yours?" Neji asked, a bit more icily than he had intended.  
Sasuke looked away and the silence stretched between them again. It was awkward, this stillness, tense and aching like trying to exercise in a cold room. Simple emptiness of speech had never bothered Neji before; he had even preferred quiet to needless conversation before he came to clan Uzumaki. Before his uncle gave him away to be Naruto's subordinate, Neji had often complained that dialogue was pointless, that people spent too much time talking about nothing. Perhaps the difference was that when Hiashi or Tenten or Kiba chose to be quiet, there was nothing that they had to say, and with Sasuke the silence managed to convey so much. With Naruto's beautiful killer, an entire novel could be written in what was not said and the weight of a look.  
Neji disliked being made to feel nervous, even though he knew Sasuke was not irritating him intentionally, and decided that he had tolerated more than enough mystery for one day without being subjected to the raven's moods. Pulling on the black cargo pants without really giving the garment much inspection, the Hyuuga tried to decide how he would ask Sasuke what the hell was going on without getting into a fist fight. Finally dressed, he took a deep breath and moved to where Sasuke was still leaning stoically against the wall.  
"Sasuke, when are you going to tell me what's bothering you?" Neji asked, turning to the darksome murderer.  
"Who says anything is bothering me?"  
"It's obvious." Neji stated, moving to stand in front of him.  
"To the Byukugan?" Sasuke asked raising a sardonic eyebrow.  
"To anyone who's paying attention." Neji replied, crossing his arms.  
"Why the fuck would I tell you?" Sasuke hissed.  
"Well, you've been hiding in here for nearly an hour and it doesn't look like you're in any mood to tell anyone else, so I can only conclude…" Neji said.  
"Fuck you."  
"Sasuke, I don't really understand why you are keeping it to yourself. Everyone can tell that you're pissed off about something, so why not spare us all the angst and just tell me what's going on?" Neji replied evenly.  
"I just…Never mind." Sasuke murmured.  
"What? You still think I'm planning to murder everyone in their sleep?" Neji asked, annoyed.  
"No. You've made it perfectly obvious that you have no interest in killing my family, but…" Sasuke sighed.  
"But…?" Neji pressed softly, moving to stand a bit closer.  
"But I wasn't able to save them either." The raven finally whispered, breathing the words into his mask so softly that Neji almost lost them.  
"What do you mean?"  
"I couldn't save them, I tried…I tried everything, one equation after another, but if you hadn't finished the proofs we all would have died and Sai would have been left here…" Sasuke trailed off.  
"So that's why he's been so desperate to have sex with Naruto." Neji said, nodding to himself. Sasuke shrugged.  
"It isn't any mercy to live when everyone you know is dead." Sasuke said blithely.  
"No, I guess not." Neji murmured.  
"I failed them, my family, again…" Sasuke whispered, hiding his eyes.  
"Don't be dense. You did most of the work. The only reason it was even possible was because you had already figured out all of the relevant parameters." Neji argued.  
"Nothing would have worked without your equations."  
"Are the only accomplishments that count the ones that you do by yourself?" Neji asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"They were dying and I…I couldn't do anything to stop it…" Sasuke turned away.  
"I gave you information that you didn't have. Nothing more. Like a textbook." Neji said, suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable.  
"I failed them…"  
"Sasuke! Everyone is ALIVE!" Neji shouted.  
They stood together, too close, Neji breathing hard. He was not angry, no, that was not quite the right description for what he was feeling. More than anger, the Hyuuga just felt so damn full of broiling emotions, everything tied up in everything else. Finally, Sasuke turned to meet his eyes, the ebony of the man's unguarded irises somewhat shocking after only seeing the scarlet glow of the sharingan for so many days. There was something almost intimate in looking into Sasuke's naked eyes, his real eyes, un-obscured by jutsu. The swirling mess of feeling in Neji's mind was somehow both intensified and soothed by looking at Sasuke, by having him actually look back.  
"We did it together…" Neji murmured.  
"Stop it. Humility from you is just weird." Sasuke huffed, rolling his eyes in annoyance.  
"Who's being humble? Without the information I gave you, it might have taken you an entire week to figure it out." Neji chuckled.  
"Your work with energetic dimensions is…impressive." Sasuke acceded, eyes smirking a bit behind the mask.  
"Hmmm…many things about you are impressive." Neji breathed, setting a hand on the wall beside Sasuke's head.  
Neji knew that he was being forward, probably inappropriately so, but the raven smelled so good, so familiar. The crisp smell of winter rose from his flesh like snow from the mountains, clean and sharp. Sasuke looked at him warily and crossed his arms into a defensive barrier across his chest, but he did not push the Hyuuga away or retreat. Instead, the once-Uchiha looked up at him through the curtain of his lashes with a coy kind of confidence, a bit of unspoken challenge that was so similar to Anko that Neji nearly choked. Sasuke was gorgeous, perhaps even more so than Anko had ever been, more stunning than any real person he had ever even seen before. There was something about Sasuke, beyond just the preternatural beauty, something about the way he moved and spoke that set Neji's nerves on fire. He was attracted to him, just as surely as he was to Sakura, but the feeling was utterly foreign as well. Sasuke brought out something sharper and almost more aggressive in his nature than Sakura or even Anko did, but it was desire all the same. Sasuke's eyes dared him to move, to touch, to claim him in a way no woman ever could, everything about him hard and masculine, but intoxicating nonetheless. Neji let his body go still, waiting, enjoying the closeness and the scent. They had kissed before, but the gesture was too heavy with meaning to really be a kiss at all. Neji knew that he wanted to kiss Sasuke again, even if the feeling was still strange and a bit too exotic to be anything other than totally irrational. He wanted to kiss him for the sheer pleasure of it, wanted to discover for himself if the raven tasted as tempting as he smelled.  
Neji drew a surprisingly steady finger down the center of Sasuke's chest, enjoying the way the silken fabric of the raven's shirt clung to his muscles. They were both dressed, he noted, for the jinchuuriki's pleasure with Sasuke wearing a sleeveless blue tunic slit up the sides to show his legs, and an incredibly well fitting pair of black cargo pants underneath. The midnight blue of his shirt accentuated Sasuke's porcelain skin, making the naked flesh of his shoulders look even more smooth and perfect than it already did. The dark haired killer also wore a pair of black arm covers, fancifully sewn together in the same corset-like fashion as his own shirt. Neji smiled as the pieces fell into place a bit more. Naruto liked laces.  
"Tell me, what does all this mean?" Neji said, hooking a finger into the laces on Sasuke's arm covers.  
"Does it have to mean something?" Sasuke teased darkly.  
"No…but it does." Neji replied, stroking the skin of his shoulder.  
Sasuke watched him for a while, smoldering black eyes raking over Neji's face and body in unmasked appreciation. Anko had looked at him that way too, like something that she may or may not want to tear apart, the expression both violent and seductive. A deep shudder ran up Neji's spine. He moved his hand to grip Sasuke's chin between his thumb and first finger, tipping the raven's face up to meet his own. He was pleased when the beautiful murderer yielded to his direction, leaning closer, black eyes smirking above the mask. The feel of him was nothing like a woman, but no less arousing. The cloth of Sasuke's mask was thin enough to still show the shape of his face beneath, each perfect line lovely under the close embrace of the blue silk. Neji sighed and brushed his masked lips against Sasuke's own. His mouth was covered by the garment and Sasuke's lips were similarly obscured, so the kiss was superficial and chaste, but still stirring enough to make him dizzy. Just the brush of skin-warm silk and the firm shape of the raven's lips beneath the fabric, soft and hard at the same time, yielding, was enough to send a sharp spear of heat directly into Neji's core. He found to his pleasure that Sasuke Uchiha, the fierce and terrible bane of all civilization, was surprisingly submissive. Neji smiled and kissed him again, moaning a little as Sasuke wound his left arm around his neck and melted into the embrace.  
He wondered idly if Naruto had made Sasuke this way, if he had taught him to be so sensitive, to respond so easily, but he doubted the jinchuuriki would have done anything to change the raven haired menace. Oddly enough, the soft way that Sasuke clung to him was very much in character. Where Naruto was bright and hot, Sasuke was cool and dark, mysterious in a way Neji knew very well. They were yin and yang, night and day, equally powerful and desirable. Sasuke nuzzled his mouth a little and Neji had the distinct impression that if they were not separated by the silk of their masks, that the raven would have bitten him. Rough, he liked it. Neji moved a step closer, squeezing the muscular crest of Sasuke's shoulder, already fully aroused. The raven made an odd little noise, something between a gasp and a sigh, and he could feel his own breath catch in response. The Hyuuga was about to pull the royal blue mask aside and have his way with Sasuke's mouth when the killer chuckled and pulled back just a little.  
"So you want to know what it means?" He breathed, smiling a little, dark eyes cocky.  
"H…Hai." Neji replied, breathless.  
"Naruto says a lot with clothing, he's weird that way." Sasuke said with a shrug.  
"So…"  
"So, this," Sasuke said, placing his fingers against Neji's masked lips, "Means that he's a jealous fuck-head and that he's gotten all possessive and attached to you."  
"Well, you did warn me…"  
"This," Sasuke whispered, moving his deadly fingers down to trace the laces of the Hyuuga's shirt, "Means that he thinks you are beautiful. Something special to decorate."  
"Sasuke…" Neji whispered, eyes widened.  
"Here, this, your arm cover…," Sasuke continued, "It means that he wants you to be happy, that he wants to understand you. He gives you something to cover the scars, something he thinks will look pretty, something particular…"  
"I…I never thought…that he noticed…" Neji stammered, taken aback.  
"And this…," Sasuke breathed, hooking his fingers into the mesh running up the sides of Neji's pants, a feature of the garment the Hyuuga had not noticed before, "This means that he likes you…that he wants to fuck you."  
"I…Oh…" Neji whispered lamely.  
"As I said, he's weird." Sasuke finished, smiling a little sadistically.  
OoOoOoO  
Sakura knelt on the floor between Sai's knees, the motion considerably less graceful than it would have been a few months ago when her belly was smaller, but hopefully still sexy nonetheless. The artist looked down at her curiously from where he sat nervously on the edge of the bed. She could tell that Sai was still a little unhappy about being left behind when Naruto went out with Neji and Sasuke, but it was an opportunity that the kunoichi had been waiting for. Naruto was worried about Sai's inexperience, or rather the fact that Sai had no clue about how sex worked, even theoretically, and was anxious about how the ink nin's naiveté might affect his chances of surviving the thrall. Sex was emotional, everyone knew that, but Sai had only just begun discovering how to access his own feelings again and he was still frightened by the intensity of the experience.  
Sakura knew that Naruto did not want him to be frightened or hurt, not the way that Sasuke had been, but the heat made it difficult for the jinchuuriki to resist Sai's advances. By taking the others out for a date, Naruto had a chance of figuring out what in the hell was going on between Sasuke and Neji, while she got a rare opportunity to administer a little sexual education. Sakura smiled, a bit nervous herself, and slowly began to remove her kimono. Sai's eyes followed her movements, but she knew that his attention was more analytical than passionate, he was still confused. The woman rested her hands against his knees, massaging the tendons of the joints gently until she was certain that she had the artist's entire attention, and not in the analytical way.  
"Tonight it's just going to be you and me. I want to show you a couple things, so you can be ready, okay?" Sakura asked gently.  
"Okay." Sai replied, staring with hawk-like focus at her naked breasts.  
"You can always tell me to wait, but I'm not going to stop unless something hurts." Sakura explained.  
"I thought it was supposed to hurt?" Sai asked, cocking his head curiously.  
"It will when you have sex with Naruto. Letting another person into your body can hurt, especially the first time. We'll be very careful to make sure it doesn't hurt very much." Sakura said with a reassuring smile.  
"It's okay. I've had lots of things in my body." Sai said with the plastic smile that she had come to recognize as a sign that he was confused.  
"Things?" Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"Yeah, like knives and bullets and broken glass and arrowheads and sharpened wood…"  
"Sai, it isn't that kind of pain and it isn't that kind of…um…penetration. Sex isn't like getting stabbed, do you understand?" Sakura said, faintly sickened.  
Sai nodded and shrugged, as if the prospect of pain really did not worry him. She sighed. The kunoichi knew that Sai was about as frightened of pain as Kiba was of dogs and that would actually make everything a lot harder since the ink nin was not likely to tell anyone if he was hurting. Deciding that talking would only go so far, Sakura ran her hands higher up over Sai's thighs, stroking the flesh meaningfully with her thumbs. Sai watched her, fascinated, as Sakura let her hands glide farther still until her palms were resting lightly over his genitals. He was wearing simple cotton pants, likely borrowed from Sasuke, with a drawstring waist and nothing else as far as she could tell. Smiling slowly, she ran her thumb over the hardening flesh underneath the fabric, pleased when the artist's breath caught a little.  
"How much do you know about this?" She whispered.  
"Not much. It makes me male." Sai breathed.  
"Does it feel good?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"Yes…I think so."  
Sai's eyes were flat as she touched him, but a faint blush dusted his cheeks and his body hardened beneath her hands. She smiled. Sakura had known all along that his physical reactions were appropriate, after all the male erections were mostly a spinal reflex, but feeling the tissue warm and stiffen beneath her fingers was still a relief. Sai trembled a little and covered her hands with his own. Kami, he was so sensitive! She was barely touching him, just the tiniest bit of pressure and friction, barely enough to be a decent tease, and already his breath was coming faster. Sakura moved closer, pushing his knees wider apart with her shoulders, and slowly began undoing the laces of his pants with one hand while cupping him in the other. Sai gasped a little at the touch and Sakura gave him a calm push on the belly to encourage him to lean back onto his elbows against the bed. A few stubborn knots and garment fell away easily to leave the artist suddenly as naked as she was.  
Sakura rose up a bit on her knees, fighting not to groan as her distended womb made the action harder than she expected, and softly kissed the tip of his penis. He was longer than Sasuke, but not as thick as Naruto, very beautiful if quite nearly hairless. She licked him, enjoying the silken texture of the smooth skin against her sensitive tongue, ending with another playful kiss at the tip. The artist yelped quietly at the touch, quickly putting a hand over his own mouth to stifle the noise. Sakura stood, carefully because unborn babies are heavy, and crawled onto the bed beside him to pull the hand away from his face.  
"It's good to make noise. You're supposed to, that's how your lover knows if they are doing a good job." Sakura said with a laugh.  
"Oh." Sai replied, a little breathlessly.  
"Being touched here should always feel good, if it doesn't whoever is touching you needs to stop immediately." She whispered, running her fingers in a small circle over the head of his organ.  
"Hai…" Sai breathed, blushing hard.  
"The skin here is very sensitive and it can feel very subtle changes in texture, that is what makes it feel the best usually, friction…" Sakura purred as she began to stroke him, playing her nails over the underside of the shaft.  
Sai shivered in a way that involved his entire body and suddenly Sakura was no longer simply teaching him, but fully aroused herself. She leaned her body across his torso, settling her swollen breasts against the firm expanse of Sai's chest as she took his mouth, licking his lower lip gently. Sai sighed and wound his arms around her, returning the kiss with passion and eagerness. Their tongues played, stroked, stimulated, until Sakura was blushing and breathless and Sai was making needy little noises against her mouth. She reached for him again, stroking the underside of his erection firmly with two fingers, massaging the hardened flesh until pre-cum began to bead at the tip. Sai whimpered a little, pressing his face tightly against her throat as she spread the warm fluid over his body, running her thumb over the slit, pressing in just slightly. The artist jumped beneath her a little.  
"That feels…that feels…too much…" He panted.  
"Yes, the opening here is tender, so we have to be careful. But, if I use just the right amount of pressure and the right angle and the natural lubrication…" Sakura whispered huskily as she fingered him again.  
Sai arched his back and cried out as the pad of her finger pressed against the tiny opening. Sakura smiled and moved to kiss his nipples as her hand moved lower and began to stroke him again, the strokes long and slow, broad with her palm. Carefully, she encouraged Sai farther onto the bed, still stroking him steadily and noting with satisfaction that his hands shook against her shoulders as he tried to manage both moving and feeling at the same time. Once the artist was comfortably arrayed on the bed without the danger of falling off, Sakura bent to him and took the weeping shaft into her mouth, moaning at the warm, salty, musk of the pre-cum already coating him. Sai yelped again and thrust against her mouth, but Sakura held his hips firm to the mattress as she sucked him.  
The kunoichi loved oral sex, she really had no idea why Ino and some of the other girls did not, and she enjoyed the warm firmness of his erection against her tongue. She lapped him, pausing to suck on the tip, before taking his length fully into her mouth and moving until the tip of him touched the sensitive skin of her throat. This was the most exciting part, the delicate balance of pressure needed to swallow against him without choking, the thrill of just the tiniest bit of difficulty. Sakura pulled back and lapped at him again, tonguing his urethra softly as she prepared him. Sai shouted, fisting his hands in the pillows, breathing hard. She waited a breath and then another before driving her tongue into the sensitive opening, pushing with the muscular undulations of her tongue, probing for the salty essence there. Sai screamed, half sitting as the stimulation burned through his nerves, but Sakura held him firm. Sakura chuckled a bit to herself and soothed the crown of his penis with soft, circular strokes of her tongue as the artist quieted a fraction to lay back in a quivering heap against the pillows.  
"How do you feel now?" She asked, with another long lapping stroke.  
"I…I feel like I have too…like pressure…Like I want…I need…something." Sai whimpered, obviously confused by the feeling.  
"You feel like you are about to cum. It means that your body is almost stimulated enough to release semen." Sakura whispered.  
"Why?" Sai asked.  
"Because if you were inside me and I wasn't pregnant, my body could use it to make a baby for us. A baby that would be half yours." Sakura explained. Sai's eyes widened.  
"Oh…I always thought it might be, but Danzo never said…" Sai breathed, looking away.  
"Danzo was a very bad person." Sakura nearly hissed.  
"I…I…Did Naruto…?" Sai stammered.  
"Yeah and Sasuke too, that's why she's here. It's okay. It's a good thing." Sakura soothed, patting her belly affectionately.  
"I just…never thought…"  
"Don't worry…" She purred and bent again to his body.  
Sakura moved low, licking the sac of his scrotum gently until she was able to maneuver one of his testicles into her mouth and then the kunoichi began to suck softly. Sai groaned, tangling his left hand into her hair. For while, Sakura was content to hold him in her mouth, letting him feel the heat and stroking the skin with her tongue. When she could feel the muscles in his groin jumping against her palms, the woman licked her way up and around him again, nibbling the underside of his erection with her lips. Sai made a kind of harsh sighing-hissing sound of urgency and Sakura removed her lips to wrap her hands around him.  
"S…Sakura…" Sai squeaked, biting his lip.  
"Cum. Cum now, baby." The kunoichi whispered as she began to stroke him.  
"I can't…I can't…It'll break…"Sai panted.  
"It's just your body, your body needs to release…"  
"The old thing…I…It'll shatter!" Sai whimpered.  
"Shhhh…Relax, let it happen…it has to happen…" Sakura murmured, stroking him faster.  
"Ahhh….Ahhh…" Just sound now, he was so close.  
Sai turned away, gritting his teeth, but his hips were already moving in natural counterpoint to her hand. Sakura rubbed him, entranced by the ruddy blush spreading down his preternaturally pale chest, lending a hint more color to his nipples. He thrust against her once and then again before clenching his muscles and ejaculating in a warm gush against her fingers. For the barest moment, Sakura thought she saw a ripple of electric blue flow across his skin, faster than lightning, but the color was gone even before she could truly comprehend it. Sakura blinked, but saw nothing other than Sai was lying in a lovely, panting, trembling sprawl before her.  
"Good boy." Sakura breathed, smiling as she milked him and wondered.  
OoOoOoO  
Neji tried not to stare, but only succeeded marginally. He had never seen Naruto dressed up before, perhaps in the Uzumaki livery, but not like this. The blond wore a well-fitting, ochre orange shirt with interesting silver buttons and tiny, black, flame patterns embroidered onto the open edges of the collar. The shirt was made of something almost like silk, but a little bit shinier and would have been utterly ridiculous…except that it wasn't. The man looked good, very good, and very accessibly good. Everything about Naruto, from the tantalizing texture of his shirt to the soft way he had combed his shining blond hair screamed 'touch me, I feel good' in the most brazen visual language Neji had ever seen. The vessel had chosen to leave the first three buttons open at the collar and rolled the sleeves up to his elbows in a way the shirt was probably not designed for, but that looked wonderful anyway. The glowing expanse of smooth, darkly tanned skin was almost sinful, practically glowing with the flush of Naruto's fever and tempting beneath the close stretch of the cloth. He was like honey, golden all over and glittering…luscious. Neji had come to the uncomfortable realization that he was attracted to the jinchuuriki weeks ago, but seeing Naruto this way was enough to actively distract him.  
The fiery blond liked attention and Neji wondered how he had managed to miss the fact that Naruto was so good looking, so striking, for so many years. He did not look like anyone else in Konoha, like anyone else the Hyuuga had ever seen, and if the visual stimulation was not enough Naruto also wore the most appealingly noisy jewelry he had ever heard. The jinchuuriki wore black leather wrist cuffs with tiny steel bells sewn onto the edges and a profusion of silver chains twirled into graceful knots. Naruto's pants were almost exactly like Sasuke's, but looped with decorative silver rings and chains, emphasizing the sleek contour of the blond's buttocks, tinkling, scintillatingly, with every step he took. The entire ensemble chimed and jingled musically, ringing with every movement the jinchuuriki made, intentionally distracting. The sound, though quiet, would have made any other ninja unbearably nervous, but Naruto had always liked aesthetics that would drive most people insane.  
Neji discovered quickly, to his shock, that he did not find the veritable racket annoying. Instead the noise was…interesting. There was something sensual in the sounds, as exotic and appealing as Naruto's blond hair, something that made Neji want to see him in the jewelry and nothing else. The jinchuuriki obviously liked the noise too, swinging his hips in rocking circles just to make the silver chime, totally oblivious to how much the movement advertised.  
The Hyuuga blinked and tried once again to walk in a straight line towards the restaurant without running into Sasuke. The trio walked in a relaxed clump, close enough that Naruto could slide his hand into the back pocket of Sasuke's pants, too intimately close to be anything but lovers. Neji would have given them more space, tried to hang back and avoid looking obvious, but Naruto had already snagged a hold on the laces dangling from his shirt. The blond looped the leather lace through his fingers and Neji was forced to either walk an inch from the man's hip or look for all Konoha like he was being dragged. People stared. People stopped and stared. People stopped and stared and pointed and Neji suddenly understood why Sasuke hated going out. He wanted to fade away, disappear into the shadows, stalk back to the house and lock himself in. Tonight, the entire village knew that he belonged to the blond and it was uncomfortable to say the least.  
"You guys are gonna love this place! It's great! Kakashi sensei told me about it and he says that it's just like the food they have in Wave! Tasty!" Naruto gushed excitedly.  
"If you want fish, we could have had fish at home." Sasuke groused.  
"Yeah, but that's boring. At the restaurant it's really different, really exciting and Tsunade didn't let you go to Wave last winter so I thought it would be cool!" Naruto pressed.  
"I've been to Wave, you know." Sasuke grumbled.  
"Going with Orochimaru doesn't count. Vacations with psychopathic snake people aren't any fun, you probably just trained the whole time…"  
"You didn't go on vacation either. You were supposed to be working last winter." Sasuke sniped.  
"Doesn't mean I didn't have fun. In Wave they let you eat lying down! Like on couches!" Naruto exclaimed.  
"Why would you want to eat lying down?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"Cuz that way we can cuddle." Naruto said, smiling so wide his eyes practically squinted shut.  
"I am not cuddling you in some weird-ass foreign restaurant!" Sasuke snapped.  
"That's what they do in Wave." Naruto whined, pouting.  
"We aren't in Wave!"  
Across the street, a group of Nara clan scribes stopped to gape and whisper amongst each other. Naruto waved at them and the men dispersed as if they had been sprayed with cold water. Neji wondered if it was always like this, if the entire village always treated the vessel like he was some kind of dangerous animal on display in a zoo, and, if they did, how Naruto managed to stay sane. Kakashi waved at them from a dumpling stand and Naruto smiled in return as he casually slipped his arm around Neji's waist as they walked past the teacher. People whispered. Most smiled and a few sneered, but everyone seemed to be watching as they passed with far too much interest for Neji's peace of mind. Somebody whistled. Naruto smiled and Sasuke glared and Neji was very glad that his face was mostly covered so no one could see him blush. The whole situation was bizarre, bordering on outright absurd, and Neji had never felt so off-balance in his life.  
By the time they reached the area of town closest to the restaurant, Neji had cut himself fingering a kunai too nervously and Sasuke had decided to supplement his glaring with threatening hand gestures. Naruto, however, seemed to be as happy as ever. The restaurant was a small affair firmly ensconced in the civilian sector of the city, far away from ANBU or the tower or any other ninja establishments. The small building was surrounded by an ornate garden carefully landscaped to look like sandy beaches with tide pools and filled with gurgling fountains still splashing even in the chill of the late fall air. The mist kicked up by the fountains decorated the naked trees with a shimmering sheen of ice that sparkled like gems in the last rosy glow of the evening sun. The effect was ethereal, unearthly and very beautiful. Naruto grinned and hugged him a little tighter.  
"What kind of idiot has fountains going this time of year?" Sasuke asked, crossing his arms.  
"Someone who loves water." Neji replied softly.  
"Yeah! The owner's from Wave! Come on!" Naruto said and pulled them inside with a rapturous jingle of his silver accoutrements.  
The hostress was a tiny and extremely efficient woman who spoke with a thick accent and wore enough sea shells to populate a decent sized bay. Though she had never met Naruto personally, she recognized his name from the reservation list and knew enough about Konoha politics to greet the jinchuuriki enthusiastically. Apparently, he was the first clan head to frequent the place. Neji was not surprised that the restaurant was not patronized by clan leaders since, other than Naruto, most of them rarely bothered with the civilian areas of Konoha at all. Sasuke shot the hostess a particularly baleful scowl, but said nothing as she chatted with Naruto and led them to their table. Thankfully, the seating chosen by the woman was in one of the farthest corners of the establishment, somewhat separate from the main dining areas, and afforded them a bit of privacy. The table was well lit with nearly a dozen glass lanterns and beautifully inlaid with mosaics made of shells. It was also surrounded by a kind of u-shaped couch covered in large pillows instead of chairs or normal seating cushions.  
"I'm not doing this." Sasuke hissed.  
"Oh come on! It's fun!" Naruto said, reclining onto the couch like a well fed cat.  
"Looks pretty comfortable." Neji said, shrugging and moving to lie down as well.  
"This is seriously one of your stupidest ideas!" Sasuke spat as he moved to lie down on the other side.  
Neji managed to get into a decently comfortable reclining position, while still being able to reach the table and the kunai hidden in his belt. Sasuke similarly arranged himself on the other side of the couch, muttering angrily about stupid cultures that wanted to eat lying down and all the damn seashells. The waitress arrived wearing a colorful sarong, seashells and not much else. Neji hoped she did not have to go outside for any reason or the poor woman would probably freeze to death. She knelt at the edge of the table and wordlessly handed them menus, gracefully gesturing to where the drink menu was slipped into the inner cover. Naruto made a quick hand gesture to her and the girl smiled and hurried away.  
"What the fuck was that?" Sasuke asked.  
"I thought you had been to Wave?" Naruto asked, smirking.  
"I have. No one ever acted like that." Sasuke snarled.  
"It's because you spent the whole time training, like I said. In Wave the ninja clans are all controlled by women, it's heavily matriarchal, kinda like the Inuzuka clan, but way more restrictive. In the ninja clans, the men don't talk in public unless it's something urgent or their general specifically tells them to, especially not if they are low in the birth order. The civilians of Wave are kinda the same way, but in reverse. Only the first born daughters are allowed to speak in public and all the other women are supposed to be silent or it's considered rude." Naruto explained.  
"So if a man approaches you and begins speaking, you know immediately that he's a civilian. That's kind of helpful actually." Neji mused.  
"Any moron who's paying attention can tell who the civilians are without weird gender restrictions." Sasuke huffed dismissively.  
"Still, it makes going incognito a lot harder. I think having to always guess whether you should be speaking or not would deter spies pretty effectively." Neji countered.  
"Yeah, actually it does. Trying to quietly gather information was a lot of work. If you want to get any kind of intelligence out of a ninja, you pretty much have to ask a woman and then they all go running back to their clan leaders. If you want information from a civilian, you have to ask a man and they don't know anything because the clans only talk to women." Naruto said, annoyed by the memory.  
"How'd you get around it?" Neji asked.  
"Turns out Sexy-no-Jutsu is useful for something other than just shocking the hell out of people." Naruto said with a grin.  
"Only you would deal with cross-cultural spying difficulties by turning yourself into a woman." Sasuke laughed, rolling his eyes.  
"Yeah, well, it got the job done and nobody died. Better than the alternative, believe it." Naruto said seriously.  
"I do. The whole place sounds like a mess." Sasuke agreed.  
"It's just different. Made me really glad I was born in Konoha." Naruto said, smiling.  
"It did? I mean…Even with the way people treat you?" Neji asked quietly.  
"I get to choose who I marry and don't have to rely on hand gestures to buy ramen. I don't get beaten if I hug one of my female friends. I can have female friends. It's amazing what you take for granted." Naruto said, idly stroking Sasuke's hair.  
"Tch, that's stupid. If it's so bad, why don't the men just leave?" Sasuke yawned.  
"It's hard to leave when you can't read, not to mention the fact that your entire clan will hunt you down and skin you alive if you try." Naruto said, raising an eyebrow.  
"Kami! That's awful!" Neji exclaimed, shocked.  
"Oh, like the Hyuugas would have done anything different with you." Sasuke noted sourly.  
"What?" Naruto asked, stiffening.  
"At least I was taught to read." Neji hissed defensively.  
"You're just supposed to be a servant, though. How much did you have to teach yourself?" Sasuke pressed.  
"Wait, what are we talking about? What's going on?" Naruto asked again, scowling.  
"The Hyuuga clan is just the same way as the clans in Wave. So were the Uchihas. The only difference is the whole gender superiority thing. If you desert, then the rest of the clan will hunt you down and kill you for shaming them, it's the same everywhere." Sasuke said, shrugging.  
"But… Is this true?" Naruto asked, turning to Neji.  
"I'm not sure I really agree with Sasuke…but it is true that most of the branch house members can't read. Also, the punishment for leaving is…severe." Neji whispered.  
"Kami…" Naruto breathed, eyes wide.  
The waitress arrived then with a tray of drinks. She knelt and served out the steaming beverages as silently as she had handed them the menus, but smiled at Naruto and laughed a little when he made another hand gesture. Sasuke raised an eyebrow and Neji was certain, knowing the extent of the raven's meticulous thinking, that he had already memorized both gestures for later use. The drinks, which smelled both sweet and oddly spicy, were set out carefully onto small seashell coasters and served in small, polished cocoanut shell cups. The effect was foreign, but very beautiful and Neji could tell from the scent that the beverages were alcoholic. Intrigued and more than eager to change the topic of conversation, Neji lifted his cup and took a small sip. Sweet heat bloomed across his tongue and warmed his throat as well, delicately laced with the rich taste of coconut oil and spicy cinnamon.  
"Delicious." Neji breathed savoring the taste and taking another sip.  
"What is this?" Sasuke asked.  
"Rum. It's a kind of liqueur they make in Wave from sugarcane molasses. I really like it." Naruto said, sipping happily.  
"Hmmm…it is good." Sasuke agreed tentatively, taking another sip.  
Neji had to agree. Usually he disliked anything too spicy, but the smooth sweetness of the liqueur and the rich fat of the coconut oil blended nicely to soften the bite of the cinnamon in a way both appealing and complex. Sasuke had, apparently, decided that coming out was not without some benefits and was drinking his rum wordlessly without looking quite as venomous as he had before. Naruto sighed and leaned back against his cushions until his face was only a few inches from Neji's own. The rum on the jinchuuriki's breath drifted across the space like a vapor, as sweet and exotic as Naruto was himself.  
"You taught yourself to read?" The blond asked quietly.  
"My father taught me." Neji replied, uncomfortable.  
"And…who taught your father?" Naruto asked, blue eyes steady and focused.  
"He…He taught himself." Neji confessed, so quietly that Naruto scooted closer to hear.  
"It's a good thing he did, believe it." Naruto whispered, stroking a finger down Neji's face.  
The Hyuuga fought not to shiver at the touch and only succeeded partially. Naruto's face was so close, his eyes such an unimaginable shade of blue, that Neji could not quite bring himself to look away. The drink was warm in his veins and Naruto's hand was warmer still, scalding with the heat of his fever, calloused and expressive against the sensitive skin of his cheek.  
"I don't get it, how do you function as a ninja without even knowing how to read?" Sasuke grumbled.  
"In Wave, the male nin are barely more than foot soldiers, totally dependent on their generals for direction and coordination." Naruto said sadly, dropping his hand from Neji's face.  
"Stupid." Sasuke hissed.  
"It was the same in my clan until a few decades ago, as well. Branch house members could never perform a mission alone without a main house leader." Neji sighed.  
"I never thought that…in Konoha…" Naruto shook his head, not even wasting the breath to finish the thought.  
"Even the Uchiha clan never allowed our servant class to be educated. The only difference was that they weren't allowed to train to become ninja either. You're too naïve." Sasuke said, a touch bitterly.  
"That's dumb. I hate it. We will never be like that. Never!" Naruto hissed angrily.  
"No Dobe, we won't. Everything about us is different from the other clans." Sasuke said, laughing a little.  
"You have that luxury. Your clan can be any way you want it to. That doesn't mean anything in the rest of the world will ever change." Neji said bitterly, looking away.  
Naruto reached for him again, preternaturally hot fingers warm even through the silk of Neji's mask, pressing insistently. The Hyuuga turned to face him, surprised to see a tender smile on the blond's lips, his blue eyes bright with excitement and fever.  
"Our clan, Neji. Ours." Naruto whispered.  
OoOoOoO  
Sai knelt on all fours, hips supported comfortably by a stack of pillows, panting hard. A light sheen of sweat shone over his skin and the artist still felt warm, too warm, his muscles hot with the effort of trying to keep his knees from shaking. Sakura knelt just behind him, stroking his scrotum with long, sure movements of her knowing hands in a way that felt both shockingly pleasurable and slightly ticklish. Sai moaned, closing his eyes tightly as the kunoichi began to massage the delicate structures within the tender sac, pressing with just enough force to send a thrill of terror through his spine along with the pleasure.  
"You are frightened when I do this. Has someone hurt you here before?" Sakura asked gently, the movements of her fingers never stopping.  
"I…I don't remember." Sai whispered  
"It's okay. I just want you to know that I won't ever hurt you." Sakura said, moving to hug him around the waist as best she could with the pregnancy.  
"I know that." Sai replied, enjoying the erotic press of her breasts against his lower back.  
He trusted Sakura, maybe even more than he trusted Naruto, and the woman had never failed him. Sakura had always been there when he was hurt, or lost or crazy and he loved her so much that it became like a physical ache when he was not in her presence. Love hurt sometimes, but the emotion could feel good too. Sai felt good when she taught him how to stroke the dewy warmth of her vulva with his fingers and how to find her clitoris with his thumb so he could make her cum just from the careful stimulation alone. The texture, the scent of her was unlike anything he had ever experienced and when she drew his hand close, when she let him touch her on the inside…Sai gasped and moaned even at the thought. Her inner body was smooth and coated with warm fluids to make it even smoother, muscular and yet delicate, exquisitely sensitive. He liked the way she felt, the close, tight, glossy caress of her inner body against his fingers more magnetic and wonderful than anything he had ever felt before.  
Sakura taught him how to please her, taught him where it made her feel good when he touched and where it hurt. Not all places with the same, every fold and curve of the sacred tissue seemed to be unique, all unequally innervated for a vast capacity for sensation. Even the clitoris, protected in its tiny hood, was sometimes too sensitive to touch directly and other times could be handled more roughly. Sakura told him that sometimes Sasuke even gently bit her there and that the stimulation felt wonderful. She whispered, smiling against his jaw, that when Sasuke did that on the rare occasions where such a thing was alright, the raven could make her cum from a single nip alone. What feels good for a woman depends, Sakura said, on the level of her arousal, the temperature of the room and also the monthly cycles of her body. Sai had listened to her carefully, as attentively as he could with the first two fingers of his right hand fully buried in the glistening embrace of her intimate body. He had never known that a person could be touched that way, so intimately, and doing so made his blood race.  
Sai wanted to learn, he wanted to know every fold and angle of her body as intimately as his own, better, because with Sakura the knowledge gave him a way to make the love ache in his chest real, a way to turn the emotion into heavenly fire. She had made him cum only twice in the hours of love play, once in her hands and again in her mouth, but Sai had felt himself come close many times. He had been on the cusp of orgasm when she allowed him to finger her, when she taught him how to stimulate her breasts and nipples and when they lay against each other and kissed. Orgasm was becoming less terrifying and the rusty, secret in his heart seemed less likely to shatter under the pressure of the thundering pleasure Sakura ignited in his flesh. As Sakura had told him, male orgasm was about the body and the mind did not need to be involved if it made the release frightening or painful. No pain, physical or otherwise was acceptable Sakura hissed sternly. She believed that there should be no pain when he came, none at all, and Sai had never done anything with his body before that did not involve pain.  
The girl turned every inch of his flesh into a carnal landscape, showing him where his own skin was too sensitive and also where a lover could be rough. His back, the skin behind his knees, his throat were all places where actions like kneading, clawing and biting could feel good, but only the most delicate caress was acceptable in areas like the scrotum or the crown of his penis. She stroked his nipples, brushing the virgin peaks with her thumbs and fingers until Sai felt like screaming, but could not muster enough breath to try. Nipples, Sakura said, were usually less sensitive in men, but still well innervated and able to receive erotic touch. Sai believed her. When Sakura sucked his nipples, the feeling was pleasurable, but when she pinched the tender flesh in her fingers and nibbled the skin with her lips he wondered if it was possible to faint from arousal alone. She touched his penis gently, rubbing softly, but bit him roughly on the thick muscle of his shoulders and that was pleasurable too. No matter what the kunoichi did, whether gentle or firm, hard or soft, rough or sweet, every touch filled his flesh with tingling, visceral joy.  
"How do you feel now?" Sakura asked as she stroked his testicles again.  
"Good, so good…close…" He responded, breathing hard.  
"Perfect. It has to feel good, very good. The next touch might be a little frightening…" Sakura said, kissing the small of his back soothingly.  
"I'm not afraid." He breathed, muscles shaking.  
"I know." The girl smiled and slowly removed her hand from his skin.  
Even in her absence, the heat lingered like a physical thing, like a fingerprint pressed into the very energy of his soul. Sai was tempted to turn around and watch her, but Sakura had positioned him carefully and the artist did not want to spoil whatever it was she was going to do. He wanted her to touch him again, anywhere, everywhere.  
"Will it be different with Naruto? Sasuke?" He asked softly.  
"Yes. Every lover is different. Naruto will be more controlling, more demanding, he won't take the time to define every sensation, but instead try to make the feeling blend together. Loving him can be overwhelming sometimes, but always very, very good." Sakura laughed, as she moved to the other side of the bed, rummaging in the drawer there.  
"And…Sasuke?" Sai whispered.  
"Sasuke…has some interesting habits. There will be moments when he makes you feel like you can't even breathe, the pleasure is so intense, so unbelievably ecstatic…There might also be moments when you should tell him to stop." Sakura replied her tone a little strange.  
"What do you mean?"  
"Naruto can handle his aggression, he even gets aroused by it, but Sasuke sometimes does things that most lovers wouldn't like. He doesn't have very good instincts about what is too rough. He likes to bite, hard, and if you don't like seeing your own blood you have to tell him when it hurts." Sakura explained, moving back to her previous position behind him.  
"He says he doesn't like to be bitten." Sai noted.  
"He doesn't unless he is already very aroused and usually then he only likes to be bitten hard by Naruto." Sakura said, moving her hands over his buttocks.  
"Oh."  
The woman massaged the muscle there, kneading roughly, one hand steady on the center of his lower back. The position was compromising, even worse than lying on his back with his vulnerable belly exposed, but the kunoichi made the artist feel comfortable, safe. Sai moaned a little as Sakura worked the tense muscles of his buttocks with her strong hands, coaxing him to lie down more fully against the pillows. Sai took a breath and felt himself relax, his body responding to her touch almost immediately as Sakura gently pushed his head down to rest on his folded hands.  
"Sai, I'm going to put my fingers inside of your body now." Sakura whispered, brushing her thumb between the cheeks.  
"Inside?" The ink nin breathed, heart racing.  
"Yes. Naruto will touch you here too, he will touch you here a lot and it is very important that when he does you don't fight him. The thrall is dangerous and he won't be able to stop if you get scared." Sakura said.  
"I want the thrall." Sai whispered.  
"Then when he comes inside you, don't fight. Don't fight with your body and don't fight with your mind. Relax…" She purred.  
Sai tried, tried to will his body into soft submission for her, but it was very hard. Sakura kissed his lower back, running her hands over his sides. The sweet scent of almonds wafted over to him as Sakura uncorked a small bottle of oil and slowly moved back to sit just behind him, her thighs pressed close in between his own. The kunoichi spread the fragrant lubricant over her hands, warming the almond oil against her own skin before she ever touched his body and Sai felt slightly drunk on the fragrance. When the touch did come, it was just the flat press of her palms against the skin of his buttocks, spreading the muscular cheeks to expose the tiny opening within.  
"Spread your legs more." Sakura whispered and Sai moved to comply, feeling oddly vulnerable.  
Her hand was warm and slick with oil as she touched the virgin flesh of his anus, just the pad of her finger, and a deep shudder moved through Sai's flesh at the unexpected stimulation the contact brought. Her finger, just resting against the opening, was enough to make him nearly want to flinch away from the sheer intensity of the touch alone. Sai choked a little, feeling the blood rush hard to his face and lower.  
"How do you feel?" Sakura asked, rubbing just a bit.  
He felt vulnerable, fragile, submissive, as if he were baring his throat or kneeling at her feet. He felt warm and also cold, thrilled and also afraid, the touch both erotic and very intimate. Her finger felt…felt like so much, too much, an entire storm of emotion tied to the simple fact that she was touching him there and no one had before. Sakura soothed the tender skin, removing her hand only to press again, very softly, training his body to accept the contact without shying away. She could hurt him this way, Sai knew, and his body tried to react to the threat, his blood thundering in his veins and the small hairs at the back of his neck standing on end, and yet…it was still good.  
"How do you feel?" Sakura breathed again, moving her thumb over the tender skin as well.  
"Open." Sai finally managed, hissing the word through gritted teeth.  
"Yes. That's a good way to describe it." Sakura whispered, adding more oil and touching him again.  
She rubbed, every motion deep and sensual, rubbing the most intimate part of his body. Warmth spread over the delicate skin and strangely visceral pleasure flowed in heated waves deep into Sai's body with every confident press of her fingers. Sakura added more oil, pressing and rubbing, until Sai was quivering with arousal, the feel of the silken pillow cases rough and irritating against his hardened shaft. His hips moved, responding instinctually to her rhythm, moving against her hand, pressing and eager. Sakura stroked the tender skin with her thumb, cupping Sai's testicles in her fingers, and the dual stimulation was enough to make him moan. Sai was hard, so hard that his body ached and he could only focus on the tingling press of Sakura's fingers against the entrance of his body. Suddenly he moved a bit, pressing back against her, following the pleasure, and instead of pulling away Sakura held her hand firm and the pad of her thumb slipped in.  
"Ahhh…" Sai yelped, panting hard, feeling cold as she breached him.  
"It's okay, relax…" Sakura purred, but did not pull her thumb away.  
"I…I can't…" Sai panted, his belly tight as his body fought to reject her.  
"You can. You're okay. Does it hurt?" The girl asked softly.  
Sai wanted to respond, he tried but the words only came out in a single, long groan. His entire focus was narrowed and directed onto the fact that there was something hard and foreign where nothing had been before, stretching the space inside. The invasion, the strangeness of it, made him feel nervous and quivery deep inside, like his very bones were shaking. Her thumb did not hurt, not exactly, but the intrusion felt strange, full…  
"Naruto will touch you this way, he will want to touch you here, inside…" Sakura was whispering.  
"Take it out." Sai whimpered.  
"Does it hurt?" Sakura asked.  
"I…I just…Too much…I can't…I can't…" Sai said, feeling close to tears and not knowing why.  
"Too much in your body, or too much in your mind?" Sakura asked gently.  
"I feel too much…Everywhere…" Sai whispered, trying to explain.  
"It's okay. It's okay to feel. We can wait awhile." Sakura said, rubbing his back soothingly.  
She stayed with him, her thumb still inside, occasionally reminding him to breathe. The rusty, jagged secret deep inside was so close, groaning under the weight of the feelings, trying to break apart and cut him with it's edges. Sai shut his eyes, a light sheen of cold sweat rising from his skin. Sakura was still speaking, her voice soft and the words unimportant, just the sound of her presence and her love there to keep the heat close against the darkness. The press of her voice was like the press of her hand, warm and gentle, opening him slowly. He was still soft, having lost the erection when she breached him, but the fear was less now, slowly being burned away in the heat of her hands. After a while Sai found he could breathe again and Sakura began to move, brushing against him just a little.  
"I'm scared…" Sai whispered, biting his lip.  
"I know. It's okay, it'll feel good, I promise. Relax…" She breathed, rubbing in a slow circle.  
"I…I love you…" Sai whimpered.  
"I love you too, baby, I love you…shhhhh…relax for me…" Sakura urged, kissing him again.  
Sakura moved inside him, stretching the quivering muscles, adding more oil. After a while, the push and pull of her thumb began to feel strangely erotic, even more intense than before, the ridges of her finger pads stimulating against his sensitive skin. The artist took a breath and tried to relax, filled with her, but no longer aching. Sakura moved, rubbing deeply, and Sai felt his body open for her, accepting the invasion centimeter by careful centimeter until she was buried in him all the way up to the knuckle. Sakura adjusted her hand, rubbing him with her fingers, moving her thumb in a firm circle as she opened him. Sai moaned, his body full, full with her, and hot.  
"So tight…So gorgeous…" Sakura whispered and removed her thumb to add a finger.  
"Nghhh…"Sai groaned, trying to adjust to the new feeling as she moved her finger deep inside, moving, searching…  
Suddenly, scorching pleasure seared hard into his groin and in and instant Sai was fully hard once again. He shrieked, his hips bucking back against her on instinct, the erotic fire ringing through his nerves like lightning. Sakura moaned and touched him again, rubbing her fingers against something sexual and electric deep inside his body. Sai felt dizzy, his body ablaze and the deep tightness of impending orgasm already gripping him. The woman added another finger and the larger penetration ached as Sai's intimate body was stretched for her, but the pleasure never waned. He was full, Sakura was inside him and he loved her so having her fingers so tight and deep in his body was good. The fullness was so good…better than anything…She pumped him, in and out, stroking the fiery, sensual something every time. Soon, Sai was pressing back against her with each movement, his penis hard and excruciatingly sensitive, blood pounding in his ears with every erotic thrust of her fingers. Sakura reached for him with her other hand, rubbing the pre-cum over the shaft as she fingered him, moaning softly.  
"Oh yeah, oh yeah, baby…you're so good, so hot…" Sakura groaned, licking her lips.  
"Sakura…I…I…I'm going to…I need to…" Sai hissed, panting hard.  
"No, wait, hold on…" She instructed and removed her fingers.  
Sai moaned at the loss, his body stilling singing with unspent heat, flesh quivering with her absence. The girl moved close, lying beside him, pulling his chest tight against her back. Sakura threw her left leg smoothly over his hips, moving her hand back behind to grip his hair and undulating her hips in a way that nearly made him scream. She reached for him, gripping the aching shaft and guiding him up into the luscious embrace of her body. Sai moved, thrusting deep, his body beyond his own control. Sakura moaned and flexed her muscles against him, squeezing him with her body, making the molten heat spread until Sai thought he might die from the pleasure alone.  
"Sakura…Sakura…" He chanted her name like a prayer, rocking in hard.  
"Yessssss…fuck me…" Sakura snarled, gripping his hip.  
"Oh…Oh Kami…" Sai moaned.  
He pushed in, the succulent heat of her body like a vice around him, tight and moist. She arched sinuously back against him, meeting every thrust and coming hard with a soft gasp. Sai moaned, feeling his own body approaching the precipice, lost in her heat. Sakura whined, high and needy, before clenching around him as she came again. The pleasure of her, of everything, exploded into his awareness in a single searing moment, white hot and shocking as his muscles bunched hard, contracting against her like a taught spring. Sai came, came hard, with a scream that he barely heard, releasing into the glorious body of the only woman he loved.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke pushes Neji to make a decision about his feelings for Naruto, while the jinchuuriki discovers that he does have the capacity for hatred when those he hold precious are harmed. Hatred, for Naruto, may be a very dangerous thing.

My observation of jinchuuriki and their lovers has led me to believe that the within the society of the pack the subordinates most often come to love one another, deeply, as a rule. However, this does not, in my opinion, imply that such love is in any way caused by the power of the thrall. Emotion like love is surely far too abstract to be compelled and, even if such a thing were possible, there is little evolutionary value to the promotion of mindless adoration in a social structure as complex as the jinchuuriki pack. More likely it is the simple, human inclination to love those who share one's living space and cooperate for the greater good of all that produces the affection many subordinates kindle for one another. Jinchuuriki have a well-recognized tendency to mate with a distinct type of individuals, gravitating to ninja with particular talents and tendencies, and thus it seems only natural that subordinates may grow to find that they have more in common with one another than they do even with their alpha. Throughout the history of such creatures, it is not uncommon for an alpha to survive the death of a subordinate only for others of its pack to die in the person's absence, ostensibly from sheer grief. Many scholars have, for this reason, gone so far as to claim that subordinates are connected telepathically, that they communicate in such a manner during combat, but I find any evidence in support of this claim largely insubstantial. Subordinates are sexually intimate with one another and, over time, inevitably establish a hierarchy within the pack as important to their understanding of one another as the ability to speak. They learn one another's habits and patterns and so, over time, come to act in a deeply unified manner.  
-Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons

 

Sasuke was nearly drunk enough not to be annoyed and he had to admit that even if the Dobe did insist on dragging him out into public, Naruto still had very good taste in food. On his alpha's recommendation, he had ordered the grilled lobster with papaya salad and some weird, cold seafood dish with lime juice and chili. Both the appetizer and the entrée were shockingly delicious, exotic, satisfying and nothing like what people ate in Leaf. Naruto's grilled seabass in spicy coconut milk was also very good, rich and sweet and savory all at once, a bit overwhelming, like everything else that the silly blonde liked. Sasuke would never say it, not unless he was feeling particularly unbalanced, but he had always been a bit fond of that particular quality in his alpha, loving the way that Naruto seemed to seek out the absolute maximum amount of stimulation any given experience could offer. He always wanted the most flavorful food, the showiest clothing, the loudest music, the hottest sex…The jinchuuriki's tastes ran to the extreme in everything and his subordinates were no exception, all dark haired, inhumanly gorgeous, and hopelessly fucked up. Sasuke laughed at the thought. He and Sai and Neji were different people with different habits and different issues, but the one thing they all had in common was the ability to ruthlessly kill whatever it was that happened to be in the way. The three of them were arguably the most dangerous people in all Konoha, maybe even the world, and somehow they had all managed to end up in one bed, hopelessly besotted with a blonde kistune who liked to cuddle in public.  
The sad truth of the matter was that Naruto, friendly, happy, saintly Naruto, liked fucking the coldest murderers in all existence. The realization of his alpha's strange preferences made Sasuke weirdly happy, and not just because of the sheer irony of it either. For the first time in his life since the death of his clan, Sasuke felt as if he really fit somewhere, as if the fact that he shared Naruto's bed was not some bizarre coincidence. Neji and Sai made it painfully clear that Naruto had not fallen in love with him because of a mistake or because the jinchuuriki was just that nice and could not manage to get over the fact that his one-time friend was, in fact, a total freak. The others, despite what he had originally said, were his kind of people. Naruto had a type and, like everything else, it was extreme. Sai was soft and kind of cute, a bit like a lobotomized kitten, but Sasuke knew that the man could kill just as easily as breathing. Neji was quiet and restrained, always utterly dignified and polite, but he had once nearly choked the life out of a cousin he usually seemed to like because she made him feel a little bit insecure. They were, all of them, rather horrible people and the jinchuuriki still loved them.  
He loved them, and not because he was a moron who was unable to let go of the past, but because he was just that weird. Sasuke moved his hips back against Naruto as he reached for a last morsel of lobster and felt gratified to hear the vessel's breath catch. Sakura would have said that it was mean to tease him that way, but she was not here, and Sasuke already knew that he would not be getting much sleep that night. He was tempted to go for another bite of black bean and mackerel fish stew, just to have a better excuse to grope the blond, but Neji's rather bland food was less interesting and he was already full. What was interesting was the rising blush on the Hyuuga's pale cheeks and the lean muscles of his body as he reclined against the cushions. The silver eyed genius was too pretty for his own good and the raven idly wondered what he would look like with all that mahogany hair wrapped around Naruto's powerful forearm and his lithe body pressed into their sheets. He could already tell that Neji was far more sexually dominant than most people and watching Naruto fuck him would be like watching a panther trapped in the embrace of a tiger, arousing and probably violent. Sasuke liked the idea. Resistance against Naruto when he wanted something was useless, like standing against a tsunami, but it would probably be fun to watch.  
Sasuke chuckled. Despite being dragged out of the house against his will and dressed like a slut, the raven realized he was actually having a decent time. Sasuke liked the meal and the atmosphere and, if he were willing to be honest, he liked the company as well. Neji's conversation was interesting and intelligent and Naruto's arm around his chest was far more comfortable than he would have ever been willing to admit. Sasuke felt more relaxed than he had in weeks, which alone was worth the irritation of being stared at like a piece of exotic jewelry, and Wave cuisine would have been very difficult to have at home. The fish and crustaceans were all cooked in unfamiliar ways and seasoned with foreign spices that he had never tasted before, the flavors strong and yet harmonious. Naruto had needed to show him what to do with the lobster, which looked more like a giant insect than anything else, but there was something viscerally satisfying in crunching through the animal's shell and the meat inside was sweet and delicious.  
Dealing with Naruto and Neji was easy after so many weeks of trying to juggle the actions and feelings of four other people along with his own and Sasuke grudgingly admitted to himself that coming out had been a good idea. Sakura would have liked lobster, but he was powerfully relieved not to be eating something filled with mushrooms, and having the kunoichi home with Sai soothed his anxiety greatly. Sasuke trusted Sai to protect Sakura with a single-mindedness even he and Naruto would be hard pressed to match. If something were to happen Sai would deal with it even more ruthlessly than he would and, at least with Sakura, the artist had a chance of exploring sex without being completely overwhelmed. Sasuke had come to trust Sai entirely when it came to Sakura and he knew that Sai would always do whatever it took to protect their woman. After all the ink nin completely destroyed an entire wing of Konoha hospital because the girlfainted, and that was excessive, even for him. Sasuke laughed to himself again.  
"What are you laughing about, Teme?" Naruto asked fondly, stroking his chest.  
"Sai." Sasuke responded with a drunken giggle.  
"What's so funny about Sai?" Neji asked.  
"What isn't funny about Sai? One second he's coming onto Naruto like a drunken tavern girl and the next he's busy beating the living shit out of you for no reason in particular." Sasuke laughed.  
"Sai just has a different perspective on how to deal with stuff. He feels things very strongly." Naruto shrugged.  
"I thought he didn't feel anything?" Neji asked, running his fingers around the edge of his coconut cup.  
"Tch, bullshit. He feels everything." Sasuke huffed and took another drink.  
The smooth, sweet rum was a delightful compliment to everything and far more alcoholic than sake. The waitress returned to take the empty plates and Sasuke deftly used the appropriate hand gesture to order a third round to go with desert even though Naruto scowled at him. Sasuke knew he was moving beyond pleasantly intoxicated into the territory of quite drunk, but he did not care. The waitress nodded silently and hurried away, presumably to bring more drinks and the fried bananas that Naruto had ordered for them. Naruto pulled him more snugly against his body and Sasuke smirked into his cup. If he decided to get drunk it would only make the evening more interesting and the jinchuuriki had said that he wanted to cuddle. Snickering to himself, Sasuke quaffed the rest of the drink and turned so that he was kneeling beside his alpha with Naruto's waist snug between his arms. The jinchuuriki raised an eyebrow as Sasuke swung a leg wantonly over his hips to sit on his alpha fully, crouching low over the blonde's chest like a predator.  
"You are so drunk, Teme." Naruto laughed, blushing in a way that had nothing to do with the alcohol.  
"Hmmm…who's fault is that?" Sasuke purred.  
"Yours. Nobody is forcing you to do anything." Neji noted, a bit sourly.  
"Jealous, baka? Don't be, you're next…" Sasuke hissed with a smile, dipping his fingers into what remained of Neji's drink.  
The Hyuuga frowned at him in open annoyance, but Sasuke was more interested in the firm ridge of Naruto's arousal against his thigh and the hazy way the blonde's blue eyes followed his fingers. Sasuke decided that eating lying down did occasionally have some merits as far as 'cuddling' was concerned and Naruto had been right to choose the place. True, fully straddling his alpha's hips and smearing the sweet liquor across his neck was probably not what the blond had in mind, but he should have known better anyway. The Hyuuga watched with an odd sort of fascination as Sasuke proceeded to shamelessly lick the oily rum off of Naruto's skin, strange silver eyes wide and cheeks dusted with ruddy blush. The raven shot him a meaningful look at him over Naruto's shoulder. Yes, Sasuke thought as Naruto whimpered beneath him, you should be doing this too and more, much more. The Hyuuga wanted to love Sakura and had kissed him twice as well, but loving them meant loving Naruto and loving a jinchuuriki was not like loving a human. Naruto had needs and limits that a human man did not, limits that Sasuke knew he was fast approaching. Loving the blond meant nearly being fucked to death every fall, among other things, and Sasuke was determined to use the opportunity presented by the heat to force Neji fully under Naruto's thrall for the sake of all of them. If Neji joined him, if he approached Naruto now as he had once before, the jinchuuriki simply did not have the control to resist him. The blond was already deeply within the grip of his heat and, as far as Sasuke was concerned, the Neji Hyuuga had remained unclaimed for far too long already.  
Neji was not like Sai, whose fragile emotions could spiral out of control at the barest touch, and there was no reason why the Hyuuga should not share their bed and the burdens of the jinchuuriki's sexual needs. He wanted Naruto to claim Neji, wanted total assurance that the brilliant brunette was fully within Naruto's control, bound to clan Uzumaki regardless of what designs Hiashi might have. Having Neji under the thrall was just safer, safer for Naruto who was too naïve to be suspicious of pretty gifts from hostile clans and safer for Neji who would otherwise be at the mercy of his family's scheming. The thrall compelled loyalty and though the raven no longer believed that Neji had any intention of hurting them, he knew too well how manipulative family could be, how easy it was to be confused and provoked into doing something horrible… Sasuke wanted Neji chained as he was so that it would be safe for the Hyuuga to love and live as he wanted, so it would be safe for the rest of them to explore. The thrall was not something that the raven resented, despite how he had initially reacted to the idea, and he knew too well that Neji was still badly conflicted. Sasuke knew that the Hyuuga still felt the pressure of his commitments to the Hyuuga clan and the thrall would ensure that Neji only felt the weight of his clan's needs and of Naruto's body. So Sasuke challenged him, with his eyes and posture, and knew from the brunette's startled silver gaze that his statement was not lost on the other man. As he thought, Neji was nothing if not competitive.  
"Mmmm…delicious…" He murmured hotly, licking his lips and looking directly into Neji's eyes.  
"Sasuke…" Neji began, nervously looking around.  
"Scared Hyuuga? Afraid you might like the taste…" Sasuke chuckled, moving hotly against Naruto.  
"I'm not scared of anything!" Neji hissed.  
"Sasuke, I want to know what you are doing to Neji." Naruto said, putting a quelling hand against the raven's lower back.  
"Doing something to him? I'm not even touching him. Why would you think I'm doing anything to him?" Sasuke huffed, nuzzling Naruto's nose.  
"Because I know you, and I know that you don't have to touch someone to get them to do what you want." Naruto chuckled, running a fond hand down the raven's back.  
"Idiot." Sasuke huffed affectionately and moved to kiss him.  
Naruto stopped him, pulling the silken mask back up over his lips. Sasuke sighed, rolling his eyes, but the blond held him firmly. The blond looked at him steadily, his expression both pensive and patient, an awful combination in Sasuke's opinion. Apparently the jinchuuriki was not quite as intoxicated as he was and too damned perceptive besides. Neji took a breath and looked away, obviously uncomfortable.  
"I think it's obvious what I want." Sasuke laughed, jerking his hips hard into Naruto's pelvis.  
"The question is: What do you want from him?" Naruto asked with a grunt, gently pushing him back to sit up fully.  
"I want him to finish what he started." Sasuke whispered, crossing his arms and looking pointedly at the Hyuuga again.  
"Sasuke…" Naruto warned.  
"I thought what I started was an example of 'amazing stupidity'?" Neji asked smoothly, his expression stormy.  
"It is, but you still have a commitment left unfinished…" Sasuke snapped.  
"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked, confused.  
"Commitment? As if being married to him isn't commitment enough!" Neji snapped incredulously.  
"You know what I mean." Sasuke said, narrowing his eyes.  
"Well, I don't and you are going to tell me, Teme, believe it." Naruto snarled, glaring at each of them.  
"Do you want to tell him or should I?" Sasuke purred, locking eyes with Neji.  
The Hyuuga's jaw worked as he panicked, silver eyes flicking between Naruto's steady blue gaze and Sasuke's own. Neji rolled gracefully to sit on his knees, the posture both respectful and oddly distant, the way someone would kneel if they were about to ask for a favor…or awaiting execution. Naruto scowled at the unspoken sentiment and the Sasuke wondered if he had pushed the other man too far, if he had managed to touch one of Neji's few, raw nerves. Everyone in Konoha knew that Neji's weakness was his pride, but Sasuke had hoped the challenge might pull him into Naruto's arms, not away.  
"I am here to please you." Neji whispered, looking at Naruto.  
"You do please me. Could someone possibly just drop the cryptic bullshit and tell me what the hell all this is about?" Naruto snarled, frustrated.  
"I want you to sleep with him." Sasuke said, tipping his chin up haughtily.  
"Oh, Teme…not this again…" Naruto groaned.  
"He's strong, he'll survive…" Sasuke argued.  
"You barely survived!" Naruto snapped.  
"I'm not afraid." Neji growled, looking offended.  
"This isn't about fear or courage, Neji! It's about love…It's about…well…being happy." Naruto finished lamely, pinching the bridge of his nose in a gesture Sasuke recognized as a sign that the blond had a considerable headache.  
"Dobe, he's already joined us in all the important ways…" Sasuke huffed, gently stroking Naruto's feverish forehead.  
"This is important, Sasuke." Naruto whispered.  
"I…I don't want to…I mean I DO want to…I don't mind…I mean…dammit! Why can't I just…" Neji stuttered, blushing and frustrated, pressing a fist to his forehead.  
Naruto watched him, watched the silver-haired genius fumble with the words as he rarely fumbled with anything, and smiled a little. He would have said something, Sasuke was certain, but the waitress arrived with dessert and another coconut cup of rum, neatly cutting off any further discussion of the problem. Neji poked his chopsticks at the bananas morosely and Naruto had that look he sometimes got that meant he was both simultaneously scheming and concerned. Without the distraction of conversation, the dessert disappeared almost instantaneously and they were left once again to stare at one another and practice the subtle art of mind reading. Sasuke sighed and snuggled sedately beneath Naruto's chin, too drunk to care about appearances and too worried to take the touch beyond basic comfort. Sasuke could not help but feel a little bit guilty about trying to force the situation when Neji was obviously overwhelmed and decided to soothe the feeling with more alcohol. He drank the rest of the rum, kissed Naruto sloppily through his mask and tried not to think. For once, Naruto did not even bother bitching about it.  
"Let's go." The blond said gently, leaving money on the table and smiling apologetically the way someone would after pulling shrapnel out of a teammate.  
OoOoOoO  
Naruto almost moaned in relief at the sudden shock of cold air as they left the restaurant. His skin was so hot and sensitive that even the harmless brush of his own clothing, a sensation usually beneath his awareness, resounded through his nerves in a restrained kind of agony. Every touch, every movement seemed so magnified and abrasive. The jinchuuriki had not felt the full force of his heat for nearly three years and he had somehow managed to forget just how much it sucked. It was snowing gently and the light dusting of white made the ice surrounding the restaurant's garden look even more beautiful than it had in the glow of the setting sun. He sighed, closing his eyes. At least now he knew what sort of silent argument his subordinates had been conducting over the past week and the knowledge was a kind of comfort even if he still had no idea how to sort things out. In his way, Sasuke was offering his acceptance to Neji, a miracle in and of itself, but now that the invitation had been made the raven expected instant approval. He was an impatient person, used to getting what he wanted, and Sasuke had never before had to wait on someone else's mood. Naruto chuckled as he thought about it. Sasuke wanted the security of having Neji under the thrall and he was, as usual, unwilling to wait for anyone else to make up their own minds about the issue.  
"It's snowing." Neji said, as he followed Naruto out into the night.  
"Yes, it feels great! I love the snow!" Naruto exclaimed, smiling.  
"Oh yeah, your fever, I almost forgot. Does the cold feel good?" Neji whispered, running his fingers over Naruto's flushed cheek.  
The touch of the other ninja was innocent, just the meaningless brush of fingertips, but the contact made Naruto ache all the same. His breath caught hard in his chest and the jinchuuriki practically groaned with the effort of not leaning into Neji's hand, of not pressing more of the genius's exquisite flesh against his own. The other man was so forward at times, so confident, dangerously so. When Neji touched him that way, as if the action just came naturally, Naruto could hardly help himself. It was as if the Hyuuga could thrust his hand into the flames of a roaring inferno without being burned, the action both reckless and amazing, a statement that Neji believed himself to be utterly invulnerable. Naruto knew the falseness of that, knew that his friend could still be badly hurt if he wasn't careful, but he found it so hard to hold back anymore. The Hyuuga acted like he already knew what would happen, that he already knew everything would be alright, and his behavior made the jinchuuriki want to be…careless.  
"Yes," Naruto practically purred, "It does feel good."  
"Yeah…I bet it does…" Neji replied, his voice a shade huskier than it had been before.  
"I hate snow." Sasuke whispered sullenly, leaning against Naruto's shoulder drunkenly.  
"You just haven't made enough good memories with snow, Teme." Naruto chided, brushing his subordinate's face affectionately.  
"Tch, whatever." Sasuke mumbled, leaning into Naruto's warmth.  
"I guess I never really thought about it…" Neji murmured, gazing up to where the moon was rising above the white rooftops.  
"What? Snow?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"Whether or not I liked it." Neji shrugged.  
"You don't think much about whether or not you like things." Naruto replied, catching the Hyuuga's gaze and finding a flicker of heat there.  
"I've never had much choice about what I did and didn't do, liking something just seemed too…naïve." He sighed.  
Neji's silver eyes were luminous in the soft glow of the rising moon, huge and filled with emotion. Naruto decided that snow and moonlight complimented him far more than sunshine and growing things ever could, that he was more a creature of ice and shadows than even Sasuke. The Hyuuga looked gorgeous and surreal with the snow falling lightly into his mahogany hair and the twinkling patterns of light cast by the crescent moon dancing over his skin. Nothing as dangerous as Neji Hyuuga should be quite so mesmerizing…  
"You should start thinking about what you like. People are going to want to know what you like…" Naruto whispered, pulling the taller nin close.  
"I'm not even sure what I like, I guess that's part of the problem." Neji chuckled, leaning a bit nervously into Naruto's body.  
The feel of him, familiar and yet exotic, sent a thrill coursing through Naruto's sensitized flesh. Suddenly, the blond could barely think of anything except Neji and Sasuke and the way they would feel pressed against his body, the way they would feel writhing beneath him. He stroked a bold hand down Neji's back, appreciating the elegant curvature of the silver-eyed genius's spine and the impossible length of his waist, the way every line of his body seemed to taper endlessly. Sasuke was nuzzling Naruto's throat, the touch of his lips both heated and faintly demanding, impatient. Even the simple touch of the drunken kisses and the scent of the raven's hair brought a hard flush of arousal to his skin and a deep thrum of pleasure to his groin. Naruto moaned softly, watching Neji's eyes, waiting for an indication that the Hyuuga was uncomfortable or disgusted as he rested his hand on the small of the man's back. The touch was still relatively innocuous, still something friends could do, something Neji could shrug away and retreat from if he wanted. Sasuke moved to Neji's other side, running a hand boldly over the brunette's arm, stroking him the way one might a startled horse, impatient as always.  
"Is it so hard to know what you like? Just think about what feels good…" Naruto whispered, rubbing a small circle in the tense muscles of Neji's lumbar spine.  
"I…I'm not sure if I deserve that kind of luxury." Neji whispered.  
"You deserve to be happy." Naruto said, smiling a bit.  
"He'll make it feel good whether you want it to or not." Sasuke added dryly.  
"Sasuke…" Naruto groaned.  
"It's kind of annoying, but not a bad thing. It's something you can trust." Sasuke said quietly, pressing his lips boldly to the silk of Neji's mask.  
"Something you can trust…?" Neji echoed quietly.  
"My Master was the biggest pervert in the entire country, ya' know. I'm pretty good at figuring out what people like." Naruto gloated, grinning.  
"Then why does my preference make any difference?" Neji asked, a shade bitterly.  
"Because…well…you're you. You're unique. I spent years trying to figure out what Teme liked and I'm still trying to understand Sakura, but I don't know you as well as I know them, I don't really even have a place to start. Sasuke and I have been best friends forever, Sakura too, and so it wasn't very hard to figure out what made them happy even if Teme makes me guess. You are always so secretive, nobody knows what you really think about things." Naruto explained, shrugging.  
"You are always so invested in what I think about. It's weird." Neji laughed.  
"It's not like I'm asking a difficult question!" Naruto huffed good-naturedly, rolling his eyes.  
"Yeah, liking something is easier than hating it. Hate takes more effort, too much effort…" Sasuke agreed, stroking Neji's shoulder softly.  
"Hmm, I guess you'd know." Neji replied, just a bit defensively.  
"I'm a fucking expert…" Sasuke chuckled bitterly.  
"Hate is destructive." Naruto whispered, a bit sadly.  
"Like you'd know, you don't hate anything…" Sasuke snorted.  
"I hate broccoli." Naruto argued, screwing his face up in disgust.  
"Moron."  
Neji laughed a bit and they walked quietly together for a few paces, moving leisurely, in no particular hurry to get home and see whether or not Sai had blown up the house. Konoha was gorgeous covered in the clean white of the newly fallen snow and very quiet, almost dreamlike in the pale light of the moon. The contrast reminded Naruto of Sai's skin and hair, almost too extreme to even be human, and he felt his body stir at the thought of the artist's sinuous grace. He would be delicious to lay with, so delicate and shockingly submissive. Naruto bit his lip and tried to shake the fantasy away, it was dangerous to think about, but tempting all the same. The worst part was that Sai wanted so badly to be taken, that he tried to seduce the jinchuuriki at every turn, and as he gained ever greater self-awareness the artist was becoming decidedly difficult to resist. Naruto sighed and watched his breath plume out into the freezing air, dissipating in foggy curls into the night. He wondered if Sakura and Sai were okay, if the artist had managed to get a little comfortable with himself, and if Sakura had been able to comfort him. If anyone could help him, Sakura surely could, but he worried anyway. Sai was so beautiful, so affectionate and so badly broken.  
Naruto felt the old rage towards Danzo and Root flare again in his belly, hot and sickening and even worse than it had been before. Root had taken someone beautiful and sweet and pulled him apart until even something as simple as physical pleasure felt raw and frightening. They had smashed his mind before it could fully develop, caging his spirit under years of torture and psychological conditioning until Sai's entire personality was whittled away, leaving only brutal skill and the fragile reactions of a child. Root had done things Naruto could hardly imagine, changing things about Sai as basic as his scent, trying to strip away everything that made him human. Before, Sai had been a friend, a teammate, and his shattered psyche had just been another part of his nature. Now he was nearly a lover,a precious part of Naruto's family, and the hurt of what had been done to him for the sake of creating the perfect weapon seemed more personal. The jinchuuriki felt angry in a way he barely understood, aching deeply with rage whenever he was reminded of the horrors of Sai's childhood, of how he had been abused. Somehow the friendly affection he felt for Sai had morphed into true romantic love and desire, the feeling both erotic and also protective in a way his love for Sasuke had never been. Naruto was more than ready to make Sai his own, to claim him in every way, to keep him close so no one could ever hurt him again. The only problem was that the artist might not live through the experience and losing him was not something the kitsune was willing to consider, certainly not something he would be able to live with. Sai loved him, Sai trusted him and Naruto would be damned if he let anything happen to the artist. Not now, not when he finally had a chance to be happy…Naruto shook his head. Every precaution would be taken and when he finally entered Sai's body, it would be okay, everyone would be okay, and he just had to believe it.  
"You're worrying about something again, aren't you moron?" Sasuke asked, hugging his arm for both comfort and balance as they walked.  
"I just want Sai to be alright." Naruto confessed, pulling the mask down to kiss his subordinate tenderly on the mouth.  
Sasuke melted into the kiss, lips hungry and sweet from the rum. Kami, he was beautiful! Every angle, every shadow, every line of his subordinate's face and body was no less than utter perfection, perfection normal people could only dream of. Naruto moaned a little against the raven's lips, cupping his face hungrily against his own, enjoying the stimulating strength of his mouth and the slick teasing of his tongue. When they parted, Naruto felt a little better, a little more balanced.  
"He wants it Baka, he loves us." Sasuke said, resting his forehead against Naruto's.  
"I know."  
"It's all he's been talking about for an entire week. He doesn't want to ever be left behind and that's what would happen if you died without claiming him." Neji added.  
"So it's better to risk losing him?" Naruto argued, closing his eyes.  
"No, but we won't be stupid. We'll be careful and he'll be okay." Sasuke said, nuzzling Naruto's cheek drunkenly.  
"He'll be fine." Neji agreed, putting a hand against the blond's shoulder.  
"How can you be sure?" Naruto asked.  
"Sai isn't weak. The thrall only kills weak people." Neji said, shrugging as if it should be obvious.  
"Not everything is about strength, Neji." Sasuke remarked pointedly.  
"What are you so worried about?" Neji asked, crossing his arms.  
"The thrall isn't about strength, it's about surrender. It's about emotion." Naruto said, pausing to stare up at the sky.  
"Well, Sasuke was okay and it's not like he's fully in tune with his emotions…" Neji disputed, sounding mildly peeved.  
"Idiot! You don't know anything about it! You have to surrender, surrender completely!" Sasuke hissed.  
"So? He's not afraid of surrendering to Naruto, he surrenders to him all the time!" Neji argued, shrugging.  
"That's not the same! It's more than that!" Sasuke snapped, obviously frustrated.  
"Sasuke's right. It's complicated, Neji. I'm not sure Sai knows enough about his feelings to even know how to surrender that way. He isn't normal. He barely even recognizes basic stuff like fear or hunger." Naruto sighed.  
"Wouldn't that be an advantage in all this? In everything? To feel nothing…" Neji muttered, a touch bitterly.  
"Feeling nothing is not an advantage in sex. And even if it were, people don't get to have advantages in sex, Neji. Believe it." Naruto snapped.  
"It's an advantage most ninja would do anything to achieve, whether it works in sex or not." Neji huffed, turning away.  
"It is, until he wants to do anything other than kill people." Sasuke spat sarcastically.  
"Well, killing people is what he was trained for. It's what we're all trained for. No one can change that." Neji said, irately.  
"He wasn't trained, Neji, he was destroyed. There's a difference." Naruto argued evenly, crossing his arms.  
"Root pulled him apart and then tried to put him back together into something…something…else. He doesn't know who he is. He doesn't know what he is!" Sasuke added angrily.  
They paused, standing alone in the deserted street with the snow blowing around them in soft, glittering waves. Sasuke was glaring murderously over the edge of his mask, clearly ready to fight, body tense and balanced to spring. With a snarl, Naruto grabbed his subordinate's wrist, holding onto him and what felt like the raw power of lightning. Sasuke hissed and Naruto could not tell if the noise was directed at him or Neji. Regardless, most people would never have been stupid enough to try to hold back Sasuke Uchiha with a little bit of touch alone, but the jinchuuriki prayed it would be enough. Using the thrall in private was bad enough, but doing it in the middle of the street would turn Sasuke into a furious mess for days. Naruto grit his teeth and held on, his grip on Sasuke's wrist the only thing preventing the raven from launching himself into a drunken, but still mercilessly deadly, assault into Neji's face. Neji was glaring haughtily over his mask as well and Naruto had the distinct impression that the argument was less about the thrall than it was about Neji's general dislike of Sai. How had he missed that? That Neji and Sai never seemed to agree? Naruto growled at his own stupidity and met Neji's eyes until the Hyuuga dropped his gaze into the snow and Sasuke relaxed in his hand. He breathed a sigh of relief and slowly loosened the hold he had on Sasuke. The blond did not want them to fight and not only for his own sake. A battle between Neji and Sasuke, even drunk Sasuke, could easily be worse than any natural disaster.  
"I'm sorry, I guess I don't understand." Neji conceded after a while, meeting Naruto's eyes.  
"It's okay." Naruto said, smiling. Sasuke grumbled.  
"It's not like you could. No one even knows what Root really did to him." Sasuke acceded, jerking his hand out of Naruto's grasp.  
"Sai didn't tell you?" Neji asked gently.  
"He doesn't really remember, but the parts that seem to crop up sound bad enough. Worse than Orochimaru's laboratories…" Sasuke snapped.  
"Teme…" Naruto gasped, eyes wide.  
"…Much worse." Sasuke finished coldly.  
"How could…how could anything be worse?" Neji asked, shocked.  
"I don't know, but it was. I know about evil and even the things my Master did…the things I did…Nothing as bad as what Sai hints at sometimes…" Sasuke whispered, turning away, ashamed.  
"Kami…" Neji breathed, looking faintly ill.  
"I hate Root. I hate what they did to him. I hate them." Naruto hissed, the sick old rage almost too sharp in his belly.  
"Please don't say stuff like that, idiot. You don't mean it." Sasuke whispered, laughing a little, his tone very strange.  
"I do. I hate them. I feel sick whenever I think about it." Naruto said, clenching his fist.  
"You just love him, that's all…" Neji contradicted.  
"No. I hate them." Naruto snarled and the awful, sick coldness in his gut seemed to grow.  
Sasuke gasped, eyes wide and startled. He let go of Naruto's arm as if he had been burned and backed away from them, standing rigid with shock. Naruto glanced at him, surprised by the behavior, but still aching with rage too sharply to respond.  
"Sasuke?" Neji asked, confused.  
"Please…don't talk that way…It's stupid…I don't want you to ever feel like that...don't be stupid…" Sasuke pleaded, his voice that of a frightened child.  
"I can't help it, Teme…" Naruto sighed, still angry.  
"You hate them…you really do…?" Sasuke asked tonelessly as if he already knew the answer.  
Naruto nodded. Sasuke shuddered and clenched his fists, hiding his eyes in the ebony curtain of his hair. He stood in the snowy darkness like a lost spirit, posture closed and strangely uncertain. Naruto cocked his head, sharply worried, as heavy waves of fear poured over him through the link with his subordinate. He was afraid, the raven was afraid, and Sasuke was not afraid of anything. Suddenly, the hate seemed much less than the concern Naruto felt for his lover. His raven haired beauty was always more expressive when he'd been drinking, emotion and tempestuous, but Naruto had never seen him express anything nearly so uncharacteristic. Sasuke was cocky, Sasuke was demanding, Sasuke was angry…but he had never been so openly afraid before.  
"Teme, what's wrong?" Naruto asked, moving towards him.  
"You're such a moron, you really have no idea do you? You do hate them, you do…real hatred, not just being pissed and…I just…I never thought I would feel that from you. The idea of you hating anything is…it's so..bad." Sasuke whispered, voice shaking uncharacteristically.  
"Teme…" Naruto breathed, eyes widening.  
"Why? Everyone hates something." Neji asked gently, surprised by the raven's rare display of insecurity.  
"You of all people should know why. He was able to wipe the floor with you just for the sake of friendly competition. He's not supposed to hate! Imagine if he hated you, if he really hated you, if he wanted nothing else but to make you suffer…" Sasuke hissed, shuddering again.  
"Yeah, I guess that is scary…" Neji agreed quietly.  
"I'd never do that." Naruto promised, feeling weird.  
"People do things they'd never thought they would ever do for the sake of hatred. People do things…terrible things…" Sasuke argued tightly.  
"Not Naruto." Neji said firmly, shaking his head.  
"You don't know…"  
"I know him. He'd never do those things." Neji stated again.  
The worst part of it was that Naruto was not sure what he would and would not be capable of doing if Danzo were to suddenly be magically un-dead or if anything happened to Sasuke…to Neji. Taking a deep breath and trying to release the heavy feelings associated with Root, Naruto moved towards his subordinate. Sasuke embraced him without hesitation, clinging to him the way he only did after a particularly terrible nightmare, arms wound around his shoulders so tight he could barely breathe. Naruto held him, trying not to think about the fine trembling of Sasuke's hands, or the way his breathing was nearly raw enough to be sobs. There was nothing he could say. The blond did hate Root and it was the first thing he had ever hated in his life, he just could not understand what about that upset his lover so much.  
"Teme, it's okay. I won't do bad things." Naruto rumbled, nuzzling Sasuke's neck.  
"Baka." Sasuke spat.  
"Whatever, he isn't you. He's too stupid." Neji joked.  
"Hey!"  
"It's true, you are a moron dead-last." Sasuke sighed, sounding a little cheered.  
"Asshole." Naruto replied, affectionately.  
"Just don't think about it…" Neji said, coming close to press a kiss to the back of Sasuke's neck.  
"Ignoring things doesn't make them go away." The raven growled.  
"What else can you do?" Neji asked, smiling sadly.  
"Tch, whatever." Sasuke sniped.  
"Neji, you are one fatalistic bastard. I thought I had broken you of that." Naruto chuckled.  
The three of them laughed quietly and the tension seemed to ease, leaving only uncertainty in it's wake. Somehow everyone had ended up standing very close together, embracing, and breathing in the smoky mist of one another's breath. The snow fell into Sasuke's black hair and against the sepia perfection of Neji's eyelashes and it was so beautiful that for a moment Naruto could only stare and breathe, and admire the rare spectacle. The spicy scent of cloves and steel mixed intoxicatingly with the wintery smell of Sasuke's hair and Naruto was suddenly utterly, inappropriately, aroused. Neji pressed another kiss to Sasuke's back and the raven shivered deliciously against Naruto's body in response. The blond bit his lip to avoid moaning, even the minor stimulation like an explosion in his fevered brain. When had Neji started kissing Sasuke anyway?  
"I guess you two have gotten pretty close." Naruto managed after a while, barely an inch away from taking them both.  
"It's just a kiss, Baka." Sasuke shrugged, pressing closer and doing nothing to relieve Naruto's state of mind.  
"No, it's much better than that. I like it. I want you to like each other." Naruto purred, running his knuckled along Neji's face.  
"I like Sasuke." Neji said, leaning his face against Naruto's fingers and the contact was glorious.  
Neji was so expressive, so easy in a way, even if he was possibly the most cryptic person currently alive. Naruto loved the way he reacted so fearlessly to his touch, how he leaned into the caress, not helplessly affectionate the way Sai was, but confident, even a little wanton. Neji was not like Sasuke had been when they first made love, cold and closed and addicted to his own rage, or insecure and tentative like Sakura. The Hyuuga had an erotic presence in every interaction and it took Naruto's breath away.  
"So you can express yourself, who'd have thought…" Sasuke mocked, raising an eyebrow.  
"When I feel the need." Neji purred, stroking the raven's side skillfully enough to make him gasp.  
"Hmm…yes, I think I like this…" Neji mused.  
"I'm glad." Naruto croaked, moving to pull away, his control slipping.  
Neji caught his hand, holding the jinchuuriki against Sasuke, moving so that he was even closer than before. Naruto was confused for a moment, unsure what the action was supposed to convey. As usual, Neji acted with confidence and never bothered to explain what in the hell any of it was supposed to mean. The Hyuuga bit his lip, suddenly unsure, looking both desperate and mildly terrified.  
"You don't have to…I want…I mean…I don't want…I mean…I don't hate you. I don't." Neji stuttered, a little too quickly, the hurt from the previous argument sharp in his voice.  
"Yes, but do you like me, us…this?" Naruto purred, moving to press a curious kiss against the angle of Neji's jaw.  
"I…I…" Neji fumbled.  
"Make a decision." Sasuke hissed irately.  
"I can't hold back like this. I need space. Please say something or let me go." Naruto said firmly.  
"Don't let him go…" Sasuke purred, moving to kiss the Hyuuga's wrist.  
"Sasuke…" Naruto hissed.  
"I…I…I like this. I want this." Neji whispered at last, looking only a little terrified.  
Naruto smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way and moved to kiss the Hyuuga's mouth through his mask, Sasuke smoothly moving to pull them closer together. With a hungry sigh, Naruto wrapped an arm around Neji's waist and pulled the green stretch silk away, meeting the Hyuuga's exposed skin with his own. It was sexy, even if he had to tip his face up to accommodate Neji's height, and the feel of his naked mouth felt amazing. With a helpless moan, Naruto pulled him into a true kiss, enjoying the way the Hyuuga parted his lips for him and met his mouth with matching heat. Unlike before, when Neji had been still and cold in Naruto's embrace, the brunette was now kissing him eagerly, pressing his tongue delicately against the jinchuuriki's lips. Naruto opened his mouth and the Hyuuga surged in, lapping at his tongue and stroking the roof of his mouth. He was just as scintillating as Naruto remembered, each stolen touch only a hint of the true lusciousness that was Neji Hyuuga. Rumbling deep with pleasure, Naruto moved his lips away from Neji's and down against his jaw, nibbling the vulnerable skin around the edge of his mask. The Hyuuga's skin was cool and smooth against his lips, not as soft as Sasuke's, but no less enticing. He was exciting, different, especially since Neji was also the first person Naruto had ever kissed who knew how to kiss him back. His mouth was so skilled, every touch of his lips and teeth and tongue sending shocking arches of heat deep into the jinchuuriki's hungry flesh. Naruto moaned and pulled back a bit, afraid of going too far too fast, looking at Neji through vision already rosy with demon chakra.  
The Hyuuga was not smiling, but he tipped his face up into the moonlight and sighed in a way that the blond knew was practically an invitation. Sasuke moved behind him, pressing his sensitized body against Neji's muscular chest, hands warm and stimulating against Naruto's belly. Satisfied that the ever-mysterious Hyuuga was not simply playing along out of some weird sense of matrimonial duty, Naruto pulled him close, enjoying the slender strength of Neji's back. His waist seemed to go on forever and it was easy to let his hands skim down Neji's spine to press against the small of his back, the powerful muscle an attractive counterpoint to the shocking slimness of his waist. He was smaller than Sasuke here, almost too much, but the strangeness of Neji's body only seemed to excite Naruto more. The jinchuuriki let his hand drift lower, over the muscular arch of the beautiful genius's buttock, resting against the firm flesh and squeezing gently. Neji gasped and moaned a little, cheeks glowing pink with both the arousal and the alcohol. He moved to wind a careful arm around Naruto's back, tucking the blond tight against his chest.  
The silver eyed genius pulled Naruto close against his hips and pressed a tentative kiss to his temple, the feel of his mouth confident and stimulating, intentional. There was a moment of awkwardness in which the jinchuuriki was uncomfortably reminded that Neji was considerably taller than he was and that the Hyuuga was holding him like something weaker, like he already had ideas about how this might go. Naruto swallowed and pressed a slightly more aggressive kiss to his throat, a bit uneasy about the restrictive way Neji held him, but enjoying the closeness all the same. Neji had always had a very dominant personality and the blond figured that the action was more a habit than a statement, unlike what he had done before, certainly not anything to be worried about. Neji wasn't trying to force him, just holding him, but it still felt weird and the vessel could not help the fine quivering that settle into his flesh. Naruto tucked his face against the brunette's shoulder and tried to relax, tried to soften himself a little, knowing it was stupid to be turned off just because someone else took the initiative for once.  
"Is this okay?" Neji whispered into his hair.  
"Fine, just…different." Naruto replied, feeling nervous anyway.  
"You're shaking." The Hyuuga noted.  
"I'm not." Naruto denied, embarrassed.  
"He's not used to someone being like this with him. Jinchuuriki are totally dominant." Sasuke explained, putting a confident hand against Naruto's shoulder.  
"You don't know that." Naruto argued, rolling his eyes.  
"I'm nearly positive."  
"Oh. Then that's why, when before, when I..well…You don't have to be afraid." Neji finished gently, stroking his back.  
Naruto blushed at that, still not completely convinced of Sasuke's theory on the matter, but Neji seemed to take the information as an indication that his approach was incorrect and stepped back a little. The blonde cursed himself and tried not to look too relieved, painfully aware that Sasuke was right at least about dominant sexual behavior frightening him. Neji was just trying to be nice and he was being so stupid! He wanted to touch his friend, he wanted to be more than just old friends, dammit!  
"Don't be upset, moron. He would have found out eventually." Sasuke said, more gently than his words.  
"I'm an idiot, huh? My Teme says so all the time." Naruto said, nervously scratching the back of his head.  
"You aren't, well, not about this." Neji laughed.  
"I'm sure I'll get used to it." Naruto offered.  
"I'm sure you won't." Sasuke huffed, rolling his eyes.  
"Baka! Will so!" Naruto snapped, flicking Sasuke playfully on the cheek.  
"Tch, Dobe." The raven responded haughtily.  
"You don't have to change anything. It's okay, it's…well…you shouldn't have to be scared. Nobody so beautiful should have to change themselves for me." Neji whispered, stroking his knuckled along Naruto's cheek.  
"Beautiful?" Naruto asked, surprised.  
"I didn't mean to offend you." Neji replied quickly.  
"I'm not offended, it's just…well…" Naruto trailed off, blushing hotly.  
"No one's ever told you that you're beautiful before?" The Hyuuga asked, looking nearly as shocked as Naruto felt.  
"Um… Naruto said, shuffling his feet awkwardly.  
"Well you are. Really beautiful. I've been thinking about you all night." Neji confessed, eyes warm, sensual and very forward.  
"Oh." Naruto managed.  
"I want to touch you. Tell me if it isn't right." Neji whispered, voice thick with heat.  
Naruto had been planning to say something, he really had, but suddenly Neji's tongue was in his mouth and the Hyuuga was kissing him like he wanted crawl inside. The firm ridge of the Hyuuga's erection was pressing against his pelvis, hard and stimulating against his own heated flesh, and all rational thought was burned away in the roaring inferno suddenly igniting in Naruto's blood. The heat of him, the scent, the slickness, the challenge was very suddenly too much to resist. Sasuke moaned and the feel of the raven's preternaturally gorgeous body against his back was more than enough to crack the blond's crumbling control completely. With a feral snarl, Naruto pulled Neji into his arms and against his hips, fully lifting the brunette from the ground completely. He held him close, hands hard against the other ninja's ass, claws digging deep through the fragile material of Neji's pants to score the flesh beneath. Neji rocked against his hips, snarling softly. Naruto hissed in return and moved to slam him against a nearby building with enough force to rock the structure down to it's foundation. Neji gasped as the concussion rocked the timbers of the building behind them, the harsh rush of his air flowing like liqueur into Naruto's mouth. He kissed him again and Neji whined a little, desperate for air, and Naruto exhaled deeply into the other man's mouth. They breathed that way for a while, grinding hard against one another. For a single, maddened heartbeat the jinchuuriki was not sure he could stop, not sure he had the will to resist Neji. He wanted him, so badly, and against all reason the Hyuuga was still hard against his own fevered body.  
"Oh yeah…" Neji groaned, undulating his hips fiercely against Naruto's own.  
"Neji…" Naruto groaned, tangling his hand into the silken weight of Neji's ponytail.  
"Do you want me?" The Hyuuga asked huskily.  
"Kami…so badly…" Naruto rumbled, nipping the creamy crest of the Hyuuga's clavicle, barely capable of speech at all.  
"Dobe…" Sasuke was saying something, but it seemed so far away.  
Naruto snarled and let his fangs graze the tender skin of Neji's clavicle, pleased when a small whimper escaped the Hyuuga's lips. The jinchuuriki lapped at the abused flesh, moving higher to the his neck, nipping roughly.  
"Ahhh…so strong…" Neji gasped, wrapping his arms around Naruto's neck.  
"Too strong…careful…careful…" Naruto managed, almost more to himself as he ravished the Hyuuga's throat.  
"I'm strong…You can be rough…Ahhh! Be rough with me, baby…I won't break." Neji purred hotly.  
Naruto responded with a breathy snarl, and pulled Neji's head hard to the side to expose the alabaster expanse of the brunette's graceful throat. Neji hissed and roughly ground his body against Naruto's hips, wrapping his long legs around the jinchuuriki's waist tight enough to be a decent grappling hold. So different from Sasuke and no less exciting, he took Naruto's breath away. Sasuke would have tried to pretend indifference, tried to resist, tried to hold onto his dignity until Naruto burned it all away and took him. Neji gave into the love-play without hesitation, meeting him, challenging him, tempting and shameless. There was nothing submissive in Neji's body, but simply holding him up and against himself was enough to make the nervousness from before evaporate in the powerful heat of the silver eyed nin's mouth and neck and hips. Naruto bit him on the long muscle of his throat, enjoying the startled shriek and burst of heated air that escaped between Neji's clenched teeth. He was lovely, lovely and perhaps even a bit afraid, but not enough to stop grinding against Naruto's aching erection. The jinchuuriki thrust his hand between them, cupping Neji boldly through the cloth of his pants, enjoying the way the Hyuuga shuddered and moaned at the contact. The angle was awkward, holding him with one hand against the wall, but the blond was too far gone to care. All he could think about was the firm heat of Neji's embrace, of how the aggression in his body seemed to melt as Naruto held his genitals and squeezed. He was big, bigger than Naruto was himself, and the knowledge only made the vessel want him more. Naruto stroked his thumb along the seam of Neji's pants, pressing hard enough to make the silver eyed genius writhe in his arms.  
"Naruto…" Sasuke said again.  
Neji was submitting to him now, still holding tightly, but softer. Naruto rumbled in approval and licked his earlobe softly, squeezing the vulnerable flesh between Neji's legs again. Neji made a sound somewhere between a whimper and a scream, belly quivering against Naruto's own deliciously. The jinchuuriki nudged the ninja's legs further apart, pleased that Neji offered him no resistance, opening himself easily like a lotus to the sun.  
"Neji!" Sasuke shouted.  
"Sasuke…Ahhh!" Neji tried to respond, only to shriek in surprise when Naruto ran a bold hand beneath his shirt.  
"Focus Hyuuga!" Sasuke snapped.  
"H…Hai…" The Hyuuga gasped, as Naruto sunk his teeth into the muscle of his shoulder, pinching the flesh roughly.  
"Do you want him to fuck you in public?" Sasuke asked irately.  
"N…No…" Neji gasped, sounding overwhelmed.  
"Then stop it! Now!" Sasuke snapped.  
"Stop what?!" Neji asked, a bit desperately.  
"Stop responding to him like that! Stop acting like a damned slut!" Sasuke spat.  
Neji took a breath and suddenly stilled in the jinchuuriki's arms, resisting him not so much with active aggression as with a simple show of passive disinterest. Naruto hissed, the sound inhuman and very close to the Fox, as he lathed his tongue over the hollow of Neji's throat, trying to coax him into mocing again. Despite his best efforts, the brunette held utterly motionless, his posture totally changed from before. The Hyuuga whimpered a little as Naruto explored the creamy flesh, enjoying the feel of his pulse just beneath the tender skin, mere millimeters away from his lips. It was glorious to force Neji's submission, but the stillness of his body worried Naruto, worried him enough to cool his passion. A lover lying motionless was a bad sign, something that the blond could understand instinctually as well as cognitively and it rankled him deeply. Stillness was something even the Fox recognized as unattractive, something linked to injury or danger or death.  
With a groan, Naruto pulled away to look at Neji, his vision distorted by slit pupils and the Kyuubi chakra still burning through his awareness. Gently, he drew the backs of his claws against Neji's face, a gesture of affection he shared with the Fox. Neji shivered and shut his eyes, obviously trying very hard not to move. Naruto whined a little under his breath, disturbed and slowly beginning to come back to his rational mind. A breath, another, and the vessel felt himself human enough to speak though his brain was still foggy with lust.  
"Are…Are you alright?" he asked at last.  
"Fine." Neji said in a calm tone that belied his flushed features.  
"I…I'm sorry." Naruto mumbled, finally setting Neji back onto the ground.  
"Don't be!" Neji hissed, embarrassed.  
"Moron, he's the one who decided it would be a good idea to try to seduce you in the middle of the goddamned street." Sasuke snarled, cuffing Neji roughly on the head.  
"I don't recall you doing much to change the situation." Neji snapped tartly.  
"I…Sorry…" Naruto said again, shaking his head.  
"Don't apologize. I just think we might want to continue this in bed, that's all." Neji smirked haughtily.  
"You are insane." Sasuke said, eyes widening.  
Naruto thought he might want to ask for clarification, or check to make sure that fucking Neji into the mattress would not piss Sasuke off, or any number of perfectly reasonable things, but instead he only managed to purr in approval. Instead of retaining any kind of dignity or presence of mind, the blond picked up Neji and Sasuke, one laughing and the other cursing, and carried them home.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Neji finally surrenders himself to the passion sparking between Naruto and the other members of his pack, while a fine assassin meets one finer than herself.

Peace between mankind and demons is a hope more fragile than a dream. So long as neither man nor beast is willing to be a traitor to his own pride, such an eventuality is unlikely. Prejudice reigns in the place of reason on both sides of the conflict, as the ninja struggle to maintain their borders and traditions without regard for the creatures who sustain the world around them and the demons resist as they must. Perhaps such blindness is only human, but the great clans neglect to notice their folly, blind to the fact that they ensure their own destruction, that they continue to actively make war upon the very things which they must have to survive. The greatness of men is humbled without the power of wood or air, made meaner than beasts in the chilly night without fire, elements whose eradication is tied intimately to that of their demon familiars. Even the jinchuuriki, beings made by men for their own purposes, are often the victims of such vapid hatred. They are killed, the subtlety of their nature twisted and turned against them by the clever designs of those they might otherwise consider kin, often for no other reason than hatred alone.  
-Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons  
Hiashi was annoyed, perhaps even more than annoyed, but he was too proud to allow the emotion more than a tenuous foothold at best. Clan Uzumaki had apparently ignored his demands to meet with Neji or, more accurately, Sakura Haruno had managed to thwart him with ambiguity in regards to the situation. The Oni matriarch sent the courier back with her most sincere assurances that his nephew was quite happy and healthy as well as an invitation to visit at his convenience. The sneaky little bitch had managed, without breaking or even straining any clan law, to maneuver that situation firmly into her own control. Hiashi could not replace Neji with a clone if he was forced to talk to his nephew within the Uzumaki compound and he could not very well separate him from Sasuke there either. Hiashi had assumed that the Oni and his mate would have been too ignorant of clan law to refuse his request and Sasuke too concerned about insult to try, but Sakura had neither implied offense to the Hyuuga clan nor acquiesced to his request. She further explained that Neji was currently very busy acclimating to life as an Uzumaki and preparing himself for the claiming, a process, she cautioned, that should not be interrupted lightly.  
The ugly little bitch was smarter than people gave her credit for, damn her, and there was not much he could do except wait for Neji to be claimed or send more letters. If he pushed the issue, Sakura would not doubt use her considerable medical expertise to concoct some perfectly acceptable reason why Neji was restricted to the compound and she could easily get the Hokage's support of the ploy too. If he chose to let the matter drop, his coup could fail. The pink-haired whore had managed to make any further demands to meet with Neji seem almost as though Hiashi was recklessly endangering his nephew's health. He had hoped to attack before Neji was claimed and avoid being forced to fight yet another subordinate, but time was short.  
"We have no time, Suki. We need him. Now." Hiashi hissed at the crouched kunoichi where she knelt on the floor.  
"He is being allowed out of the house, perhaps I can speak with him briefly…" She offered.  
"Perhaps, but only if he is alone and you have sufficient privacy," Hiashi sighed, "And that is unlikely."  
"Is there a signal, a gesture, something he might recognize so that he could sneak away to meet with me?" Suki asked. Hiashi shook his head.  
"As of yet, Neji is unaware of our plans and I would have him remain so. He cannot reveal what he doesn't know, even if Naruto does choose to compel him."  
"You believe he is under the creature's thrall?"  
"In my experience, Naruto does not rush to take lovers and I doubt he has been claimed so soon, but there is no way to know for certain. Regardless, if that Haruno slut has her way he will be under Naruto's thrall before we will be able to attack!" Hiashi snarled.  
"If he is under the thrall, the Oni is aware of his physical being, correct?" Suki asked, expression pensive.  
"I'm not certain. In what way do you mean?"  
"I believe the creature may sense its subordinates emotions, at the very least, and may also feel their wounds…"  
"Your observations had yielded this?" Hiashi asked, curious.  
"Hai."  
"An interesting possibility, but it is worthless without confirmation, like everything else." Hiashi growled.  
"That is something we must know. If Naruto is hurt when Neji feels pain, our task may become much easier than originally foreseen." Suki whispered.  
"How so?" Hiashi asked, scowling.  
"We know little about jinchuuriki, but if the beast were able to feel the pain of its subordinates, the cursed seal could be employed against him." She explained.  
"It is a possibility, but I would prefer not to subject my nephew to the seal unless necessary. We will attempt an assault first, deal with the creature in a moment of weakness, all we need is a way to watch for such an opportunity." Hiashi puzzled.  
"There is a chance that the Oni's wards are not designed to reject tags placed on individuals already recognized by the jutsu. If Neji leaves the compound again, I may be able to place such at tag and allow us a way to infiltrate the fortress. He may notice the jutsu, but will not mention it." Suki suggested.  
"I find that unlikely, especially considering the structure of the wards, but every option must be explored. Attempt the tag and also continue to observe the energy of the creature with it's whores. If it is as you suspect, then Naruto is already dead and Madara Uchiha wasn't as stupid as I thought." Hiashi laughed nastily.  
"My Lord?"  
"Madara Uchiha thought he would use Sasuke against Naruto, the fool, and he practically threw the little devil into Uzumaki's lair. An arrogant trap, though it nearly worked. Sasuke was too loyal to the Oni in the end, but Madara may have been partially correct in his approach. If they share energy, more than just a compulsion, perhaps influences travel both ways…" Hiashi mused.  
"I have reason to believe it is so." Suki agreed.  
"Regardless, we must kill the female. Our campaign is worthless if she survives to give birth. We will attack, in force, as soon as you bring me the intelligence I need." Hiashi ordered.  
Suki bowed and retreated behind the sliding doors, her retreat just as soundless as her entrance had been and the Hyuuga clan head was left to his own thoughts. Care was needed in this, nothing left to chance or supposition. The Haruno bitch had thwarted him for now, but Neji belonged to him and soon his nephew would return to his rightful family with the information needed to be rid the creature once and for all. Patience and force, that was what Madara had lacked. Naruto was an army unto himself and so Hiashi would bring an army to his door to defeat him and if that failed, well, Neji had suffered before.  
OoOoOoO  
Neji's previous experience with sex had always been heavily competitive, a kind of animalistic game played by calculating opponents, a contest to see who would give in first. Anko had made sex like everything else, a match of wills culminating in something close to violence, passion and anger in equal measure. Loving Naruto was nothing like that. There was no calculation, no competition and surrender was a certainty. Naruto touched him and Neji tried to match the jinchuuriki's love-play with his own only to be utterly overwhelmed, consumed, driven beyond petty human constructs like thought or will. With Naruto there was no winner, only push and pull, only lover and beloved, action and reaction, as ceaseless and omnipotent as the waves of the ocean. The blond made him feel fragile, vulnerable, with such natural ease that the older ninja was left utterly off-balance trying to decide if he was terrified or aroused. The Hyuuga had challenged him, made the decision to turn stolen touches into something more, and Naruto had held nothing back. The way the blond held him, cornered him, commanded submission without words or anything as trite as strength drove the very thoughts from the brunette's mind. As a child, Naruto had been magnetic, but as a man the jinchuuriki was no less than an elemental force and a sexual one at that.  
The blond was jogging, loping like a wolf with his prey, carrying two full grown men as if they weighed next to nothing. The snowy night swirling around him and Sasuke's cursing was spinning and fragmented like a kaleidoscope with the golden lights of Konoha as Naruto carried them home with the same single mindedness that the blond did anything. Sasuke was snarling something about dignity and perverts and Master Jiraiya that neither he nor Naruto were really listening to. They had argued most of the way home, or rather Sasuke argued and Naruto ignored him. They were funny, the golden demon and his black haired murderer, and Neji could not help laughing even as he searched every alley they passed for anyone who might possibly see such a spectacle. The streets were blissfully empty, thank Kami. Only the steady thumping of the jinchuuriki's stride dominated his awareness, as incessant and unstoppable as the movement of continents, each step bringing them closer, closer to the total submission Sasuke had warned him about all those weeks ago. Though it was hard to think about with Naruto's warm shoulder in his belly and Sasuke's pretty, snarling face bare inches from his own, Neji knew he might die tonight. He might die when Naruto entered his body, when he tried to synchronize his chakra with Neji's own, when they made love. People died doing this, Sasuke had almost died, Sasuke...  
Konoha's best ninja and several of the other most powerful jinchuuriki in the world had tried to kill Sasuke, all the kings horses and all the kings men had tried to bring him down, but the holy terror had repelled them all. Sasuke Uchiha had only ever come close losing his life in Naruto's bed. Neji giggled a bit madly, watching his breath move like smoke in the freezing air and thinking about death. He wondered about death, death in Naruto's arms, which was surely one of the better ways on the planet to go. Regardless, he had never been afraid of death before. Dying in battle was an easy concept, one he had always been comfortable with, but now…now when he imagined the way that Naruto would look at his lifeless body… He shuddered. Neji did not want to die, not when he could wake up to the glorious blue of Naruto's eyes and the porcelain perfection of Sasuke's body, not when he could see Sakura again. He had no idea when they had come to mean so much, but Neji did not want to leave them. Death was easy, maybe even attractive, when life held only duty and obligation. Now there was so much more, there was touch and feeling and love, real love, the kind that Anko had told him about and asserted that they never shared. Neji believed her now.  
Naruto walked through the main gate of the Uchiha compound, the entryway lit with glittering lanterns like a beacon in the darkness, and on through the winter garden covered with frost. Sasuke was bitching tartly about leaving the gate open, but Naruto smacked him soundly on the ass and the argument ended with something almost like a squeal. It was so funny that soon Neji was laughing again, laughing as Naruto threw open the door and toed off his shoes, laughing as he stomped down the hall loud enough to wake the dead, ninja stealth be damned. He could not stop laughing, though whether it was from mirth, or nervousness or sheer terror, Neji could not say. He giggled like a crazy person as they stormed into the house in a fury of blushing, drunken, male madness; nearly running over one of Sasuke's maids as they marched towards an unoccupied bedroom. Naruto shouted for a bed to be prepared and the servants scurried to comply, running ahead of them towards one of the empty rooms, doors banging as they tried to make the bed up before the blond made it down the hallway.  
Servants ran everywhere, lighting lamps and carrying bundles, shouting to one another in total confusion. Sasuke rolled his eyes, though the expression was surprisingly lacking in force when performed upside down and snapped his fingers, pointing to the room at the farthest end of the hall. Naruto was humming, something dirty he had probably picked up in a tavern while journeying with his master, walking down the hall as people tripped over one another in a worthless effort to both do their job and get out of the way. Sasuke growled something about stupid music and worthless wandering perverts, clearly criticism of Master Jiraiya, and then began giving directions to the servants. He even managed to sound vaguely menacing hanging upside down over Naruto's shoulder like a drunken damsel and few men could have managed that.  
If this had been happening in the Hyuuga compound the staff would have had a fit and someone certainly would have been flogged, but here it was almost…normal. Clan Uzumaki was boisterous, sensual, in a way his own people could never be. Naruto's pack loved eating and drinking and sex and felt no shame in showing it. Life existed as an expression of measured chaos, so much so that even the staff was relatively unperturbed when their master came thundering home with two dangerous men in tow and every intention of fucking them senseless. Either he was far more inebriated than he thought or Neji had somehow fallen into a culture diametrically opposed to his own. Or perhaps not, since they were his culture now, since they were his people…  
"Dobe! Put me down, you fucking moron! I have my own legs! Asshole!" Sasuke snarled from Naruto's other shoulder, still blushing brightly with the shame of being carried through Konoha like a sack of rice.  
"Hmm…soon…" Naruto purred, voice heavy with promise.  
Despite the chaos, Neji was powerfully relieved that Naruto did not choose to carry him into the main bedroom he usually shared with Sasuke and Sakura, though it was certainly the blond's right. Sai was still in there trying to figure out what an erection was and while Neji had finally managed to openly admit his desire for Naruto, Sai was still a perturbing unknown and not one that he had any interest being sexual with. Like a flash flood, the roaring commotion was over as soon as it had started and the house was almost silent again. Neji felt a deep surge of heat as Naruto kicked open the door, maneuvering them all into the un-used guest bedroom with something that sounded almost like a growl. No one ever held him, carried him, this way and it was both titillating and bizarre. The last time anyone picked him up was during the last war and only then to save Neji's life for Hiashi to use later. Being dragged across a battlefield by an irate medic was not the same as being swept up by a feverish jinchuuriki who held him like Neji weighed nothing and made him feel both fragile and wild at once.  
The room was quiet and warm after the chilly air outside, but Neji noticed Naruto turn up the thermostat even more. The servants had laid out a very large futon made up with an attractive ochre bedspread and dark orange pillows of heavy silk, obviously chosen for winter. More pillows had been piled up in a comfortable heap a short distance away. The staff had even managed to light several small candles in their wall fixtures and set out a selection of oils and lotions with a small stack of towels, which was…very weird. Naruto rumbled happily and slid the door behind them closed with his toe.  
"Put me down NOW dammit!" Sasuke hissed.  
"So impatient…" Naruto chuckled as he dropped Sasuke onto the bed.  
The dark haired ninja, even drunk and disoriented, landed as gracefully as a cat on the ochre bedding and immediately moved to take off his shoes, lobbing one at Naruto's head. The blond kitsune neatly dodged the shoe and began to undress Sasuke, pressing the struggling raven into the thick mattress as he knelt. Too smoothly to be anything but planned, Naruto let Neji's body slide off his shoulder and into his arms beside Sasuke on the bed. He and Sasuke struggled for a moment, mashed together by the steel strength of Naruto's arms, and then the vessel's mouth was against his own, searching, moving; commanding a response. Neji moaned into the kiss, lacing his arms around the blond's neck as Sasuke nipped him sharply on the throat, hissing irately when Naruto continued pulling his clothing away. The room was warm now, almost too warm, echoing the inferno rolling in succulent waves off of Naruto's fevered skin. Sasuke spat something nasty and barely distinguishable into Neji's left ear as Naruto toyed with the laces on his arm covers, but showed shockingly little resistance when his alpha pulled the long tunic away from his body.  
The angle was awkward and Neji's legs were tangled up with Sasuke's, but somehow the clothing kept slipping away until his naked skin was pressed against the alabaster hardness of the raven's chest and the heat of Naruto's arms. The vessel moved to kiss Sasuke, rumbling affectionately as he took his subordinate's mouth. The raven moaned, the sound needy and a little helpless, pale limbs graceful against the tawny gold of Naruto's skin. Neji felt too flushed to speak, his belly tight, breath coming fast. Sasuke turned to him, midnight eyes large and open in the low light, gazing at him as the jinchuuriki moved lower to ravish his nipples. Neji gasped. The blond sucked the tender peaks, flicking his tongue wantonly against the blushing flesh, making Sasuke writhe and arch his body into the touch with a low groan. Just watching Naruto's powerful lips working against Sasuke's tender, pink nipples was so arousing that the Hyuuga moaned, his body reacting to the display alone. They were a spectacle, like lightning in a snow storm, two colliding powers both vast and terribly beautiful.  
"Dobe…wait…Ahhh!" Sasuke keened as Naruto bit the muscular rise of his left pectoral, tugging the captured flesh roughly.  
"N…Naruto…" Neji managed, running shaking fingers down Sasuke's body.  
The blond smiled at him like the demon some people thought he was, sharp teeth grown long and deadly with arousal as Kyuubi's chakra surged in him again. He was flushed, warm with the heat, desire turning Naruto's normally blue eyes dusky purple. Neji knew that Naruto wanted him, that he wanted to be inside him, and after meeting the blond vessel's indigo gaze the Hyuuga felt his stomach turn to water and he could not seem to look away. There was fire in the depths of that look, but discipline as well. Unlike before, when Neji had been treading on the very edge of the blond's concentration, Naruto was still completely in control. Everything he did was deliberate, maddeningly careful, intended to entice; Neji knew this, knew he was being seduced and was helpless against it anyway.  
Sasuke moaned, tugging hard on Naruto's hair. He was gorgeous, smooth and pale against the dark gold of Naruto's body, dark hair a wild mess against the ochre bedding. The jinchuuriki teased the raven's nipples until the flesh was ruddy and firm before turning to Neji, kissing him softly on the mouth like he was something special, something precious. Naruto's tongue was soft against his own, a sensual counterpoint to the jinchuuriki's hand, heavy and hard like warm granite, holding firm on the exposed ridge of Neji's hip. There was power in the blond's posture and movements, but Neji could tell that Naruto was offering him a kind of acceptance instead of merely commanding submission. The feeling was there in the reverent way he stroked Neji's long hair, in the tiny circles of heat that followed Naruto's thumb on the tingling crest of his hip, in the way every stroke of his tongue was an invitation. The Hyuuga genius had never been so utterly overwhelmed by a feeling, more than a feeling really, a kind of sensual communication.  
The blond released his mouth, offering him a breath, and Neji managed to notice that Naruto was touching Sasuke too. He was holding him close and trembling against Neji's own skin, making him blush shocking crimson, touching him in places Neji could not see, but could feel in the way Sasuke was breathing. The thought, the realization, that they were writhing naked together beneath Naruto's hungry eyes was nearly enough to worry him, or it might have been if the jinchuuriki had not kissed him again. Anko often said that a good kiss was just a fuck with one's tongue and, if that was true, this was far beyond mere fucking. Naruto was making love to his mouth. He bit him, sucked him, nibbled and stroked him until Neji's lips tingled and he was nearly approaching climax from the exotic lip-play alone.  
Fighting the erotic delirium threatening to melt his brain, the Hyuuga responded to the kiss by thrusting his own tongue into Naruto's mouth, wrestling for dominance. Sasuke said it was stupid to challenge Naruto this way, but Neji was falling into a place where he had no control, no way back, and he reacted thoughtlessly. The golden phenomenon that was somehow still his childhood friend hissed a little, the sound almost a warning, and nipped Neji's lower lip with his sharpened teeth. Eager, the silver eyed genius bit him back and earned a low snarl that filled the air to resonate into the bones of his skull. The sound seemed to move into his organs, vibrating in his nerves like sparks stirred from a sluggish fire, hot and powerful. That sound, nothing like any noise a human could make, affected him physically. Before he could even comprehend it, the Hyuuga was responding to Naruto's gentle show of force, moaning and tipping his head back to expose his throat. Only Naruto brought him to this, this animal submission, more instinct than true thought.  
The jinchuuriki accepted the trembling offering, closing his powerful jaws loosely around the naked pulse in Neji's throat and teasing razor sharpness over the sensitive skin. Those fangs, so keen and so close…Neji shivered and could not tell if it was in ecstasy or fear. For a heartbeat and another Naruto held him that way, like prey, simultaneously subjugating his body and bringing him closer to the edge of release. By the time the blond released him, Neji could feel the heat of his mouth like a spiritual fingerprint left to linger on his skin. Naruto purred for him, sucking the dusky flesh of Neji's nipple into the molten heat of his mouth, stroking the captive flesh wetly with his tongue. Anko had often wanted him to use the knives on her nipples and Neji had never really understood why, but the feel of Naruto's mouth, Naruto's teeth, against the sensitized flesh was almost enough to make him sympathize. The thrill of danger so close to the tender nerves was thrilling and terrifying and also alright because Neji knew, he knew, Naruto would never be careless enough to hurt him. Sasuke's words echoed in his head, swimming in the luscious heat the blond was kindling with his tongue: It's something you can trust…  
Naruto gripped the burning nub gently in his front teeth, carefully stroking the tingling flesh with his tongue, and Neji had to bite his fingers to keep from screaming. The jinchuuriki's hand was in his hair, wrapped around the mahogany tresses, cupping his skull, holding him open before the vessel's burning caresses. He moved to the other nipple and Neji bit through the flesh of his hand with a startled cry mostly muffled by his palm.  
"Stop that," Naruto whispered against the sensitive flesh, "I want to hear you."  
"Yes…Scream for us Hyuuga." Sasuke ordered darkly, pulling the bleeding hand from Neji's mouth.  
OoOoOoO  
(Earlier that evening…)  
Anko watched the trio walk across Konoha, laughing and occasionally fighting, embracing each other hotly in the deserted streets. They were obviously compatible, the three of them, and would have made an excellent operative team for any mission involving both talent and charisma. As for the sex, she knew it would only make them closer. Anko smiled behind the mask she wore, oddly warmed by the thought of her students working together during the day and sharing a bed at night. There was something comfortable in that and they certainly would not be the first team to make it work. Next time the occasion arose, she would have to keep them in mind for tricky political reconnaissance work if, of course, she could foil Hiashi and keep the younger ninja alive long enough for their dynamic to make any difference. Anko leapt smoothly from rooftop to rooftop, moving quickly and noiselessly as she stalked the silent shadow dogging the boys' steps. The ninja she had been marking was following the boys far too carefully, too closely, to be up to anything benevolent and Anko had no intention of allowing Neji to be killed just when it looked like he might actually be happy. Stalking a stalker was a difficult task, but silence and stealth was one her specialties and she was reasonably sure that the ninja following the trio had not noticed that she, herself, was being followed. Anko paused, watching from enough of a distance to be undetectable even to Neji. He knew her well and was an exceptionally adept shinobi, so hiding from him took caution, skill and not a small amount of luck. Sasuke seemed a bit edgy, but he was too inebriated to use his instincts well enough to detect anything. As for the sulking spy following them, the woman was obviously very good, but not good enough to evade her.  
The possible-assassin was a woman, that much was already clear from the way she moved, but she was no ordinary spy. From the peculiar habit the stalker had of pausing intentionally and frequently to watch the boys, Anko guessed she was likely a Hyuuga using Byukugan to study their energy, just as she had originally feared. Such a thing was more than passing dangerous and if anyone could kill a jinchuuriki, it would be an assassin able to watch his energy. It was a sticky situation. If Naruto died and he had claimed Neji, her student would die as well. If Naruto died without sleeping with him first, well, Neji could very well live the rest of his life wishing that he hadn't been spared. Anko knew about that, oh yes, she knew well the regret that came from losing a loved one instead of following them into death and Neji did love him. The love was there in the way he moved, leaning a bit too close to Naruto's shoulder, and in the way he smiled. Kami, who would have thought that the boy could smile? Anko watched them together, watched the way Neji melted into Naruto's embrace, and knew that he had succumbed to the same nameless power that had consumed her own stony heart so many years ago. He was in love, in love for the first time, and also in terrible danger.  
She really should have known that Naruto was the jinchuuriki in question, but Anko had hoped, foolishly hoped, that her instincts were wrong. If Neji had been mated to a foreign vessel and sent far away, Anko could have believed that political power was the only thing Hiashi hoped to gain. With Naruto, knowing how Hiashi hated the little blond orphan for his rising influence in Konoha, Anko had no doubt that the Hyuuga clan leader meant to kill him. This would destroy Neji, she knew it, and the woman would do anything she could to prevent her student suffering the same agony she still endured.  
The kunoichi clung to her perch, heedless of the cold in the air, and watched. The stalker was pausing again and scrutinizing them, her posture far too motionless to be anything other than a visual bloodline talent. Naruto was kissing Neji, pressing him against a building, the two of them rough, young and in love, utterly oblivious to everything except their own bodies. Sensing that she would not be noticed, Anko crept closer, preparing a set of poisoned shuriken. Seeing a potential killer watching Neji that way, watching him try to open his heart for another person, made her unreasonably angry. He deserved some space, some peace, without politics or intrigue. Politics had ruled everything in Neji's life since he was a child. Politics had killed his father, enslaved him to his uncle's whims and forced him into a dangerous marriage with a creature he had no way of understanding. Living as a tool for Hiashi's campaigns had made Neji bitter, apathetic and pathologically fatalistic. The boy barely cared, beyond pure animal reflex, whether he lived or died and Anko could hardly blame him. She knew what it was like to be someone's weapon, someone's pawn, and if Naruto could save him from that utter hell, she would do anything in her power to help.  
Anko had been playing a tense game of cat and mouse with the skilled nin following the jinchuuriki and his mates for the better part of the evening, ever since she noticed the tail on the boys as they walked down the street. Neji, at least, should have noticed that they were being followed, but her one time lover had been understandably distracted. Even being within earshot of Naruto's damn jewelry had nearly made her head explode and Neji had been standing right next to the obnoxious blond racket. Anko had decided to follow and had been conveniently equipped for stealth having just returned from a recon operation in Wind country. She had followed, blending with the crowd, sneakily changing into clothing that made her look like a civilian. Anko was no great beauty, but she had a face anyone could forget and it had served her well. She watched, always only a few blocks away, casually planning a long night of surveillance and possibly murder over a particularly nice cup of coffee. The restaurant Naruto picked made keeping track of the boys hard since it offered semi-private rooms, but that feature only made keeping track of their tail easy, and the food was good too. Trust Naruto to know where to find good food, Anko thought smugly.  
The Hyuuga skulker was on the move again, gliding from shadow to shadow, trying to get even closer without being detected. She was studying their energy, looking for something specific, and Anko wished she had one of the bloodline abilities necessary to see what the assassin was seeing. Even without Sharingan or Byukugan, Anko had a reasonable idea about what the stalker was looking for and it wasn't anything good. The woman was probably searching Neji's chakra, trying to discern if he was under the thrall, but Anko already knew that such a thing was impossible unless the thrall was being actively exerted upon a subordinate. As long as the perky kitsune decided to avoid activating the thrall, as long as Neji did what he was told, she would not be able to learn much and that was a good thing. The brunette was a good soldier and followed orders but, her old lover appeared to be currently doing what he did best: provoking a response. Even Naruto would use the thrall if Neji pushed him too far and Neji Hyuuga liked to push people.  
Anko huffed under her breath, mentally willing Neji to back away for once in his life, letting out a slow breath when he stilled in the kitsune's embrace. He was deciding to wait, thank Kami. The stalker's posture was frustrated, apparently she had hoped the vessel would use the thrall as well, and made Anko want to snicker. Naruto picked up Neji and Sasuke, settling them on both his shoulders, and began jogging away with the singular strength and power only possessed by a jinchuuriki. He was moving fast and smoothly, forcing the stalker to move into the open in order to follow them, which she would because no ninja followed a target for 5 hours just to give up. Anko smiled. Bad people were so damn predictable.  
OoOoOoO  
The raven licked the blood away from his fingers, moaning in ecstasy, and for a moment Neji was in Anko's bed again, trembling as he tempted her with a bloody offering. The thrill was the same and also the terror, the instinctual feeling that what was happening was alien and dangerous, that a predator was near. The way Sasuke lapped at the spilled blood, face flushed and eyes glazed, was so close to the near trance Anko entered during blood-play…far too close to be coincidence alone. There was a revelation there, something obvious in the way Sasuke drank his blood, lapping needily at the marks Neji's own teeth had left on his fingers. It was more than similarity, the action and the feeling too close, but the Hyuuga could not focus long enough to discern it. Naruto sucked the blushing peak of his nipple fully into his mouth just as Sasuke brushed his knuckles boldly over the naked flesh of Neji's erection and he did scream.  
"Good…" Naruto purred.  
"Oh…Oh Kami…I…I…" Neji stuttered, not sure what he was trying to say but too overwhelmed not to say something.  
"Shhh…Relax…" Sasuke hissed, nipping his palm.  
Naruto rumbled, smiling around his fangs as he nibbled Neji's nipple, working his tongue on the nub until the flesh was so stimulated it was almost sore and surely would be later. With something like a whimper, the raven turned and sunk his teeth into Neji's shoulder, making the brunette gasp with both surprise and arousal. Naruto released his flesh for a breathless moment to nip Sasuke roughly on the thick muscle of the raven's arm, the action a clear chastisement. Sasuke hissed, but softened his body beneath their alpha's kisses. Sasuke yielded, just like that. It was amazing and a year ago he never would have believed it. Anko had told him about how lovers could slowly change each other, training one another subconsciously for specific behavior, but he had never really believed her. He did now. Neji had never seen such shocking submission before and certainly not from someone who had once crumpled empires for sheer spite. Naruto captured Sasuke's throat, holding his neck loosely in his jaws, but Sasuke only moaned and opened his body to the embrace. Kami, he had been so beautifully trained, and Naruto probably had no idea what the significance of such an act might mean…  
With one last nuzzle for Sasuke and a brain singeing kiss for him, Naruto backed away, removing his own clothing with the efficiency of long practice and the urgency of sexual desperation. For a moment Neji merely laid on the bed, blinking up at the polished wood of the ceiling and shivering from Sasuke's sharpened kisses. The room was too warm. His heart was pounding in his head and every nerve seemed set on the edge of firing. Neji sat up, greeted with the vision of Naruto slipping his silky shirt off over his shoulders, smiling warmly and totally oblivious to how gorgeous he was. Neji blushed, biting his lip.  
"Take it off slower." He whispered.  
"What?" Naruto asked, looking genuinely confused.  
"Slower, take your time undressing. I want to watch you." Neji purred, gaining confidence.  
"Me?" Naruto practically squeaked.  
"Obviously moron, everyone else is naked." Sasuke sniped, rolling his eyes.  
"You, I want to see you. You're gorgeous." Neji agreed, moving to hold Sasuke's kiss swollen nipple in his fingers.  
"Oh…well…okay…" Naruto mumbled, blushing fetchingly.  
"Relax, just make it last a little." Neji whispered, rolling the sensitive nub in his hand to make Sasuke moan.  
"Fucking slut." The once-Uchiha huffed, biting his ear too roughly to really be sexy.  
Naruto swallowed hard and licked his lips nervously, letting the shirt slide away with the help of gravity alone, baring his golden skin. Neji felt his belly clench, penis already hard from the foreplay and now aching from the image alone. Next the jinchuuriki unbuckled the leather bracers, holding the straps slowly in his teeth to pull the catches free, silver chains tinkling enticingly. The leather fell away, revealing the smooth, unblemished flesh of his forearms. Naruto's skin was far too smooth, even more than Sakura's, utterly free of the marks every ninja carried. He probably healed too quickly to scar much and, if that were the case, the blond's skin had to be so sensitive, so fine to the touch. Both Neji and Sasuke where still wearing their respective arm covers and seeing Naruto's naked forearms seemed somehow intimate and very sexual, almost as stirring as a woman's uncovered breasts. Kneeling up, the blond began to slowly work the fly of his pants down, squirming out of the garment like a siren out of the ocean, every movement making the muscles of his belly undulate. Neji felt his breath catch in his chest and his arousal tighten at the sight and Sasuke had completely stopped breathing. How had he ever thought that loving Naruto would be a problem? Sasuke's eyes widened as he watched, totally rapt, black depths warm and fluid with desire.  
"See, beautiful…" Neji whispered into the raven's ear, letting his hand drift lower over the rippling plane of Sasuke's pale belly.  
"Kami…" Sasuke whimpered, eyes locked on his alpha.  
"You guys are kind of making me nervous…" Naruto hedged, slipping the underwear away hurriedly.  
"Idiot, hasn't anyone ever looked at you before?" Neji chuckled.  
"Yeah, but not like that." Naruto hissed, blushing hotly.  
Sasuke said nothing, watching and taking shallow little sips of air. Naruto moved back onto the bed with them, lying in a lazy sprawl, obviously far more comfortable being fully nude. Sasuke was still staring at Naruto like he had never quite seen him before and the jinchuuriki's too-still blue eyes were fixed on them in turn, watching languidly, like an incredibly friendly serpent stalking its prey. That exotic stillness was something that Naruto did that no human could quite duplicate; something in his nature closer to the Kyuubi, and it was fascinating to see. Neji was uncomfortably reminded that tonight he would not just be taking a lover, but making an energetic pact with a creature of a different species that may or may not kill him. The Hyuuga swallowed hard and looked away, hand motionless on the porcelain hardness of Sasuke's twitching abdominal muscles.  
"Scared?" Sasuke purred cruelly.  
"No." Neji snarled, biting him sharply on the shoulder.  
"Liar." Sasuke accused smugly.  
"Quiet, Sasuke. It's not something to tease about." Naruto whispered gently.  
The jinchuuriki moved closer, kneeling before them in the same quiet posture one might assume when waiting for a sensei to speak or an order to be given. Delicately, he gripped the edge of Neji's jaw and turned the Hyuuga's head up to meet his gaze, close enough to be kissing, the air between them as thin and soft as a gossamer veil. Naruto stroked the brunnette's cheek with his thumb, whisker-marked face smiling a little apologetically, and then moved his hand higher to touch the steel of Neji's forehead protector. The Hyuuga immediately stiffened, blood running suddenly cold as the blond's fingers ghosted over the hideous thing hidden beneath the layers of silk and metal. No, not that, he couldn't possibly want that...  
"May I?" Naruto whispered, expression abruptly serious.  
No, Neji wanted to scream, no you may not; but how could he share his body with the jinchuuriki and begrudge him something as simple as seeing his entire face? It was stupid, stupid to feel this way. Naruto had seen it before, he knew what lay under the leaf insignia, even if he only knew the rudimentary basics of how the Hyuuga curse mark worked. Naruto had seen it, but he did not know what the mark meant, not really. The pretty, delicate, deceptively refined symbols cut into his face in dark green tattoo made him a slave. It was a brand for a piece of property, a shock collar to train an unruly dog and Naruto wanted to see it for reasons he could not even begin to fathom. Kami, why would he want to see someone else's mark on Neji's body? Why would he want to see something like that?  
Neji bit his lip, pulse jumping hard enough in his ears that Naruto could probably hear it, trying to speak without screaming or sobbing. His erection was gone, the flesh more truthful than he could ever be with words, but neither the demon nor the murderer had the callousness to mention it. Silence stretched as Neji tried to think, trying fruitlessly to find a way out. He could feel Sasuke move, the attentive way his body settled, waiting to see what Neji was willing to do, how much he was willing to commit. Dammit.  
"May I?" Naruto asked again, softer, lips close enough to his face that Neji could feel the warmth of the blond's fever radiating against him like sunlight.  
"H…Hai." Neji whispered brokenly, and for once even Sasuke remained silent.  
Gently, Naruto undid the straps and ties that held the bandana in place, fingers steady against Neji's head even if the rest of the Hyuuga's body was shaking. The garment fell away, baring the curse mark to the jinchuuriki's eyes for the first time since they were children, the first time he had allowed anyone to see it in years, and the first time Neji had ever shown it to a lover. He squeezed his eyes shut, breathing shallowly, trying to stem the unreasonable panic turning his insides to ice. Sasuke turned in his arms and Neji knew the darksome killer was activating his sharingan, studying the mark with the same academic interest he would have if their places had been reversed. Of course Sasuke would be curious, ridiculous to think otherwise and Naruto...What would Naruto think? They saw, they knew…Kami…  
"Does it hurt?" Naruto asked gently, running warm fingers around the edges of Neji's forehead.  
"No, not now." Neji replied quietly, shivering.  
"I'll never let it hurt you again." The blond whispered fiercely.  
Suddenly his fever-warm lips were against Neji's forehead, kissing the cursed mark like some kind of benediction, tracing the lines he had traced himself so many times in the mirror. With a broken sigh, Neji leaned into the affection and let Naruto touch him, let the heat of him melt the chilly pain. Then Sasuke was touching him too, brushing fingers over the tattoo, his hand calculating and perhaps even silently angry. They were claiming it, Neji realized with shock, trying to make the hideous mark null with their own possession. I'll never let it hurt you again… Neji played the words over and over in his head like a prayer. It was stupid, meaningless, a foolish promise that Naruto had no hope of ever keeping and yet Neji believed him. He believed him utterly.  
OoOoOoO  
(Earlier that evening…)  
Anko left the buildings, leaping gracefully into the trees and following them from above, the sound of Sasuke's cursing more than enough lead for her to stay oriented. Not shockingly, they were headed for the Uchiha compound, which meant safety for Neji so long as Naruto's formidable wards were not breached. Still, wards were never perfect. The snow muffled sounds well and for a brief moment Anko lost track of the Hyuuga ninja, misplacing her shadow among the many others cast by the trees in the moonlight. Unperturbed, the kunoichi backtracked and re-traced her previous route, picking up a few subtle signs that the stalker was moving father than expected. The light impression of her shoes in the top layer of the snow indicated that the Hyuuga was moving at near full speed, too fast to sink into the snow more than a millimeter or to cover her steps with jutsu. Following her gut, Anko put on a burst of speed, leaping and spinning through the trees as fast as her body would allow. She moved ahead of Naruto, farther down the path until the warm glow of the lanterns the Uzumaki clan kept at their front walkway came into view. The stalker was there as well, crouched low in the snow to hide her profile, and certainly up to no good.  
Anko called a winged-snake summons, one of her favorite companions, and sent the creature ahead to quietly observe the integrity of the Oni's defenses. Cold weather was hard on all reptile summons, but Quetzal would be quiet enough for the task and more than capable of finding a hole in Naruto's walls if one existed. The stalker had paused several paces ahead of the boys, readying some kind of jutsu to lay in their path, drawing blood signs into the snow. Anko narrowed her eyes. If she were trying to murder a jinchuuriki who was well protected by what amounted to a warded fortress, the best way to go about it would be to create a path inside. The wards would never allow a summons to enter, but they might not be sensitive to a well-placed tag on a person already recognized by the defenses, especially a person carrying the same bloodline as the creator. The ninja was moving through hand gestures, the gesticulations both complicated and undeniably graceful. It would be a powerful jutsu, well designed and well hidden.  
Sasuke's grousing was coming closer. Anko took a breath and leapt down from the tree, flipping in the air to soften her landing into utter soundlessness as she dropped into the snow a few yards from where the stalker worked. For the moment, the woman was still oblivious, but she wouldn't be for long. She unwound the translucent lengths of steel silk kept wrapped around a special spool at her waist until she had created a lasso of the nearly invisible and lethally sharp material. The spy paused, turning to look at where Anko stood out of pure reflex, but the Kunoichi was not perturbed. The Hyuuga spy would not live long enough to make any use of the knowledge. Smiling cruelly, Anko hurled a shuriken into the woman's face and dashed away into the trees, silent as a spirit and twice as fast. The purpose of the missile was not to injure, but to provoke, and the tingling sense of danger at her back proved that the ploy had worked. The smart thing for the skulker to do would have been to finish the jutsu, caste the tag and worry about faceless assailants later, but Anko knew that the Hyuuga woman would follow her. It was what Hyuugas did.  
"What is your business here?" The spy hissed from behind her.  
Anko did not respond, but turned and kicked a cloud of snow into the air in order to foil the assassin who was now no more than a few steps behind her and closing fast. The boys were already passing the area where the spy had tried to ambush them and in another few heartbeats they would be safely within the warded walls of Naruto's home. Anko dodged a well thrown kunai, and flipped backwards around the tree limb she had previously been standing on. She let the wood catch and roll around her ankles, slickened with newly fallen snow, but the assassin was a tree nin as well and anticipated the movement by throwing an explosive tag against the trunk of the tree. The explosion disrupted her balance, but Anko merely rolled in the air and let the force of the blast propel her into the waiting branches of a sturdy old spruce. If the spy was already using explosive devices, it could only mean the boys had passed into the compound and behind the wards. Perfect.  
Anko loosened her grip on the steel silk and let a long loop of the razor-sharp fiber float into the air. She jumped from the tree, letting the deadly thread lag out behind her, catching on the other tree limbs in a web of nearly invisible death. The Hyuuga followed her, neatly avoiding the threads using the Byukugan, but the technique took tremendous energy to use and Anko knew that she was already tiring. Crouching a few feet away, the kunoichi launched a merciless volley of fire with her Dragon Fire technique, igniting the forest around them in a swirling storm of flame. The Hyuuga ninja flipped in the air and dove to the ground, narrowly avoiding the roaring fire. Anko followed her, jerking the steel thread caught around the branches taught and cutting the tree limbs with the deadly wire, sending hundreds of pounds of wood tumbling into the air. The heavy tree branches fell, crashing through the canopy and carrying the heat of Anko's fire to the ground where the Hyuuga bitch was madly rolling to avoid being crushed.  
The laughter that had been tingling behind her lips for the better part of an hour finally escaped and Anko let the cruel giggles spasm out into the air, drifting like a death sentence down to the crouched figure waiting in the snow. The spy formed a quick jutsu and Anko had to spin behind the thick trunk of a nearby tree to avoid having her heart forcibly stopped by a perfectly executed Hyuuga somatic technique. Too bad the bitch was just a servant, a slave given only rudimentary education, a member of the main house would have known the variant for the attack that allowed it to pass through living material. The spy was just a pawn, a good one, but not good enough to have any hope of surviving. Anko spun and performed the jutsu for a serpent strike, fingers moving through the symbols quickly, ignoring the bombs exploding on the other side of the tree trunk.  
The assassin was climbing the tree easily, darting up towards Anko's position like a particularly deadly squirrel, tanto held firmly between her teeth. Regardless, she would never reach the kunoichi in time and the farther she climbed, the longer it was to fall. Anko ignored her and focused on the jutsu she was preparing. A shower of knives flew up form below, well aimed and forceful, but the kunoichi dodged the weapons easily and prepared to release her technique. The serpent strike required a lot of energy, but it would suite her purposes perfectly without killing the bitch too quickly. The next projectile imbedded itself into her calf, obviously thrown with assistance of the Byukugan and probably poisoned too. Unworried, the kunoichi turned and let her chakra flare out towards the climbing nin, the serpent manifest for the spell appearing with a sound like the crack of lightning and rushing towards the Hyuuga in a maddened strike. The chakra beast hissed, the sound of it like steel against granite, jaws open for the kill. The Hyuuga nin jumped, trying to avoid the jutsu, but she was far too slow. The thing hit the assassin like an arrow, moving too quickly to easily see, coils propelling it hard into the enemy nin's unprotected hip. The woman screamed as the snake turned to strike her, burying it's chakra fangs deeply into the meat of her thigh, jerking her body from the tree. The Hyuuga spy was well trained and did not waste breath on screaming as she fell through the air, leg dead with poison and the ground hundreds of meters away. Tough, Anko thought, she would enjoy killing her.  
A soft thunk and a huff of involuntarily expelled air told her that the nin had landed mostly on her feet and was certainly still alive, probably trying to cough up enough strength to use Byukugan again. The poison from serpent strike did not kill and likely that bitch was already hunting around in her supplies for an antidote. Still, the technique had slowed her down. Anko giggled again and pulled the kunai from her own leg, sniffing the blade to ascertain what kind of poison had been used. The thick scent of curare and nightshade syrup drifted over her palate, but it was a toxin to which the kunoichi was already immune thanks to her old sensei and his penchant for truly sadistic experiments. Anko released the jutsu, allowing the creature to dissipate with a malicious hiss. Limping just a bit, the kunoichi flung her steel silk out again, letting it drift in deadly loops down into the snow. The trap was set and now all she had to do was distract the woman, force her attention away from the glistening loops of nearly invisible death, let her walk into her own demise.  
"You Hyuuga's have a funny way of dealing with marriage. You whore Neji out just to kill his mate? What the hell is the point?" Anko asked, shouting over the roaring of her fire.  
"This matter is none of your concern, walk away." The Hyuuga spat, her voice strained with pain.  
"I think that's for me to decide. After all, I don't take kindly to people trying to kill my lovers." Anko hissed, knowing the comment would confuse the other nin.  
"Lovers…But…Sakura?" The Hyuuga asked, her voice shocked.  
"Guess again, bitch." Anko hissed.  
She turned and spat an expanding ring of fire out into the air, aiming for the Hyuuga assassin's voice. It was a tricky technique, one even Sasuke rarely used, but perfect for a chaotic situation in which an opponent only had a few options for escape. With the fallen tree limbs and the smoldering fire of Anko's previous technique, the burning lasso would drive the stalker exactly where Anko wanted her. The dark figure of the other woman's slender body was silhouetted for an instant against the flames as the ring forced her to leap clumsily away into the trees and ever closer to Anko's well laid trap. The kunoichi grinned darkly.  
"What is your purpose here?" The assassin snarled.  
"Oh just a favor…for an old flame." Anko replied smugly.  
"Neji Hyuuga is the property of Hiashi Hyuuga and his clan, you have no claim on him!" The woman hissed, finally putting two and two together.  
"You damn Hyuugas always think about things in terms of who owns what. Neji owns himself and Kami help you the day he figures that out."  
"Jealous?" The stalker laughed.  
"Nope, just pissed." Anko replied, hurling a storm of weapons into the air.  
The assassin dodged the weapons easily, flipping up through the trees and then back onto the ground, running smoothly along the ground despite her wounds. She was good, especially for being one of Hiashi's many slaves, almost a worthy opponent. Anko laughed again, letting her voice drift into the air, effectively giving the Hyuuga her position. A few more feet and she would be standing among the loops of razor wires resting on the snow.  
"You serve the demon, Naruto Uzumaki." The assassin accused.  
"I serve no master other than Konoha. Serving people sucks, or haven't you noticed?" Anko quipped.  
"It is my honor to serve Hiashi-sama! My honor as Suki Hyuuga!" The woman snarled.  
"Honor huh?" Anko laughed.  
Anko listened to the woman's ragged breathing, noting how the Hyuuga ninja had given her name unnecessarily just in case the information might save her. The woman at least recognized that she was outmatched and was trying to use psychology to gain a bit of an advantage, a smart ploy actually. Give a potential killer your name and it was sometimes harder to do the deed, harder to make the kill knowing the name of the body under your knife. Of course, it was also possible that the Hyuuga assassin was frightened and holding onto the last vestige of hope that Anko had somehow misunderstood the situation. The thought made the whole ordeal slightly more pathetic, but still fun in the end. Either way, she was already dead.  
"Yes, it is an honor to serve such a powerful and benevolent master. A master whose plans might even be in accord with your own, a master whose rewards are generous…" Suki called, the bribe almost casual.  
"No thanks, I've seen how Hiashi rewards his pawns and I don't feel the need to be his sacrifice." Anko grunted.  
"Hiashi makes sacrifices as necessary, as all great leaders must. No need for anyone to die tonight…" Suki argued, her voice cloying and friendly.  
"Oh I disagree, someone is definitely going to die." Anko said, projecting her voice off the trees to draw the Hyuuga closer.  
"Service to my clan has much to offer. I could tell you about it, powerful allies are never a bad thing to have, and everyone is somebody's pawn. You should think about what kind of lord you want to serve…" Suki pushed.  
"Oh you poor little idiot, he's got you all fucked up, huh?" Anko replied, shaking her head a bit in pity.  
"I think that you're the one confused, after all, do you even know your own motivations?" Suki hissed.  
"Indeed I do and I didn't even need some old pervert without the balls to do his own dirty work to tell me. How about that?" Anko laughed cruelly, voice sharp and a bit mad above the roaring flames.  
"Quiet! How dare you?!" The woman roared, finally losing her composure.  
"I know about serving people the way you serve Hiashi. They fuck you, send you off to die and then have the nerve to make you feel like shit if you manage to make it back alive…" Anko said, the steel silk itchy in her fingers.  
"You don't know anything!" Suki spat.  
"Oh? So you haven't been taking his dick since you were thirteen? Oh wait, maybe you were actually younger, too young to even know what in the hell was going on…" Anko jibed.  
"You're wrong! He never forced me!"  
"Kids can't consent, girl, it doesn't work that way. I should know. You're even his fucking cousin, right? Kami, all this time I thought my own life was fucked up…"  
"The Hyuuga bloodline must retain its potency, it's not something commoners understand very well, but you don't have to worry about the particulars." Suki offered.  
"The particulars are important, trust me. Evil is never upfront in the broad strokes, it's always in the particulars." Anko sighed, almost to herself.  
"Why kill for nothing? Why not get something in return for your blood? Hiashi will rule Konoha someday and you would do well to be on the right side." The woman replied, changing tactics and trying to regain her own control.  
"The right side is the side that doesn't treat people like tools to be used and then replaced."  
"I think you have been misinformed…" Suki laughed, the sound strained with too much emotion.  
"Oh? So he doesn't use you like a cheap whore and then send you out into beautiful scenarios like this one without so much as a pat on the head? I guess I've read you all wrong…"  
"Shut-up! He loves me!" The nin shrieked.  
"Oh yeah, he loves you, just not were anyone can see, right? You're his dirty little secret, at least until you get too old or too dead for the lie to be juicy anymore…" Anko pushed.  
"FUCK you! You don't know ANYTHING!"  
"Oops, did I hit a nerve? Sorry, I guess all Hyuugas have one…" Anko laughed.  
"I'll KILL you!" Suki roared, leaping up into the first branches of the tree.  
"Nope." Anko said coldly and jerked the thread.  
The steel wires, so slender and sharp that they never even sank into the snow, leapt at the tension. Suki had walked through the spider's web of steel silk lying on the ground while talking to Anko, too engaged in the interaction to notice the razor death clinging around her ankles, too angry to feel the weightless trap. The wires went taught, slicing easily through Suki's ankles. The woman screamed. Anko grunted at the sound, but did not hesitate. She gave the silk a savage pull and the woman's feet were severed cleanly from her body with an ugly swishing crack, gushing steaming blood over the snow. The wire warbled in the icy air, rebounding back to bite into Suki's flesh again. The Hyuuga spy flailed helplessly with the stumps, eyes wide with terror and shock as Anko leapt down from her perch to finish the kill. Dismemberment was ugly, but then again so was murder and the kunoichi had gotten over sensitivity to other people's pain long ago.  
The sharp scent of her blood was rich and cloying in the air, appealing and sickening at the same time, but Anko focused on the task at hand. The spy still hung from the tree limb with a kind of spastic determination, using the last of her strength to avoid falling into the web of fine cutting threads below. She had been trained well, very well. Suki shrieked as Anko flung a kunai into the Hyuuga's white knuckled hand where she still clung to the tree, effectively destroying her grip. The Hyuuga fell, back into the mass of sharpened steel silk, screaming in pain and horror as the blade-like fibers sliced her body.  
Anko followed her, pulling the silk up into a spinning maelstrom of glittering death, cutting the woman where she lay in it's sharpened loops. Suki screamed, reaching for a weapon even as her wrist was caught in the wires and cut savagely to the bone. Anko spun and landed to the side, safely outside the snarling mass of razor fibers. She pulled hard on the thread, feeling slightly giddy as the Hyuuga's blood sprayed onto the snow, filling the frozen air with steam. The woman screamed, shaking like a dying rabbit in the jaws of snare. The wire cut her, tangled about itself, and cut her again. Suki screamed again and Anko realized how very young she was, too young really, but there was no going back now.  
"Who do you work for?!" Suki screamed.  
"Neji." Anko hissed.  
"W…What…?"  
"I won't let Hiashi hurt him, not this way, you just got in the way." Anko sighed regretfully.  
She jerked the threads again. The girl's ear was cleaved from her body and her blood gushed from the wound in pounding spurts to mingle with the river of life already on the ground. It was a disagreeable kill, messy and painful, but a point was being made. Anko moved closer, winding the loosened threads around her gauntleted hand before jerking the slack taught again. The woman screamed, writhing in pure reflex even though the movement only cut her more. Suki's right hand had been tangled in the killing threads and when Anko had pulled the limb was cut into four pieces, unattached fingers twitching gruesomely on the ground. Her face was cut to the bone, but Anko thought she had probably once been very beautiful. What a damn pity.  
"Why…?" The Hyuuga whispered, flinching as the wires cut her lips.  
"Because I'm a monster and I don't want Neji to be one too." Anko said, kneeling carefully at the dying woman's side.  
"But…Naruto…the demon…" Suki choked, shuddering.  
"Sure, but he's no monster, not really. The real monsters are people like me who look and talk like everybody else, who walk around trying to be normal. One monster like me is enough in this world, don't you think?" Anko asked, smiling sadly.  
"Please…Please…" Suki managed, choking on her own blood.  
"Sorry baby, I can't let you live. What kind of ninja would you be anyway, what would it be like with your hands and feet gone? It would be worse…much worse than death I think…" Anko said gently, genuinely saddened.  
"I'm…I…I don't want you to spare me…" Suki choked.  
"Don't worry kid, I won't. I'm too cold for that." Anko sighed and jerked her wires taught one final time.  
OoOoOoO  
Neji's breath was coming too fast, he was seeing stars. Somewhere in the fevered haze of his mind the Hyuuga knew he needed to take a full breath, pull the air deep with his diaphragm, and resist the instinct to pant. It didn't matter. Focus was impossible with the way Naruto was licking him, the velvety flat of his tongue slow and fever-warm against the underside of his penis, the blond's strong hands like iron against his skin. The jinchuuriki held him open wantonly, one hand wrapped like a shackle around his left ankle and the other pressing firmly against the joint of his right knee, the weight of it forcing his pelvis up against Naruto's mouth. Rumbling, the vessel ceased his teasing and moved to suck Neji's shaft confidently into his burning mouth. There was something rough and muscular about the sex, very male and utterly different from the way Anko had done it. Naruto did not flick him with his tongue, or shield his teeth, and sucked him nearly hard enough to be uncomfortable. For the second time that night, Neji felt his body flex and tighten with impending orgasm, but the blond broke the rhythm of his licking and nipped the crown instead, teeth grazing the sensitive skin roughly enough to halt his release. Neji cried out, throwing his head back in both ecstasy and frustration.  
"Fucking gorgeous, I love it when you do that." Sasuke whispered to Naruto, his voice low and velvety.  
"He looks good like this, too good…" The blond agreed.  
"Fuck! How many times are you going to do that!" Neji shouted hoarsely, quivering.  
"I want you to be aroused." Naruto explained smiling nonchalantly.  
"Aroused?! You're going to fucking KILL me!" Neji moaned.  
"You'll live through it Hyuuga." Sasuke chuckled, caressing his face.  
Neji was not sure he believed him, especially considering that this was far more perilous than simply making love, but there was no point in thinking about it now. His muscles were tight and trembling, bunched taught at the edge of climax, hands fisted reflexively in the soft bedding beside his head. Neji felt as if every inch of his body had been ignited, covered in tingling flame, roaring heat wherever they touched him. Sweat ran down his chest from the strain, tingling against the sensitized skin of his nipples and dripping down onto his belly. The room was almost uncomfortably warm and Sasuke was sweating too; his pale, muscular body glistening with it in the gentle light. Kami, he was too beautiful…Neji moaned, clenching his eyes shut tightly as Naruto pressed the muscular slickness of his tongue into the narrow slit of his penis, pushing deep. The feel of it was almost frightening, intense and almost aggressive, an echo of more profound penetration to come.  
The Hyuuga lay couched between them, head pillowed in Sasuke's lap as the jinchuuriki sucked him, legs spread wide around the blond's shoulders. He was exposed this way, vulnerable, and the slick smoothness of Naruto's claws against the skin of his knee and ankle was both thrilling and too intimate. Sasuke moaned, running the pads of his fingers over Neji's chest, pausing to hold his nipple gently between his thumb and forefinger. Just the press of the raven's hands was enough to make him writhe, heat blooming low and tight in Neji's loins from the weight of the man's fingers alone, pulling him again to the very brink of release. The silver eyed genius gasped, clenching his teeth together as he fought to hold back. Neji had experienced oral sex before, but never like this, nothing like this!  
"Don't fight it…Try to relax…" Sasuke purred.  
"Ngh…" Neji managed as Naruto thrust again with his tongue.  
"It's okay, it feels too deep, but he won't hurt you." Sasuke assured him, smiling oddly.  
"Kami…What…How…?" Neji panted.  
"It's something Sakura taught him. It makes you feel like cuming and then you can't, but it's good, it's good he's keeping you close to orgasm. You shouldn't think too much…" Sasuke whispered, stroking his face.  
Neji shuddered and wondered vaguely if this could be considered a kind of torture. Naruto used every part of his mouth, caressing Neji's aching body with his tongue and teeth, but also swallowing him down into his throat and pressing the crown with his lips. The sensation was so intense, so overwhelming, that Neji could barely even manage to focus on breathing and feeling at the same time. Sasuke bent to take his mouth, kissing his lips and jaw and cheeks, nipping the flushed skin. Neji moaned, thrusting reflexively against the jinchuuriki's steady hands, held firm against the bed with the vessel's strength. Naruto rumbled in approval and spread his legs further apart, taking the tender sac of Neji's scrotum into his mouth, stroking softly with his tongue.  
The Hyuuga licked his lips, acutely aware of Naruto's mouth, and teeth, against his testicles. For an eternal moment, the kitsune simply held him that way, allowing Neji to study the sensation of his balls lying heavy and full against Naruto's tongue. He whimpered and then Naruto was rolling them with his lips, pressing through the thin skin to the delicate structures beneath.  
Neji had watched him do this with Sasuke as well, placing focus on the most vulnerable parts of his body, promoting submission through sheer vulnerability of touch and position alone. He knew the theory, understood the psychology behind the act, but the awareness of the behavior did not matter. Neji opened himself further for the jinchuuriki, spreading his legs and tipping his head back on instinct, unable to resist. Naruto touched him and his body moved, quivered, and responded as if the flesh was no longer his to command. The blond was playing his nerves like a flute, defining every sensation, his lovemaking purposeful and magnetic. Neji had never been so defenseless with a lover before, so utterly unguarded, helpless…  
Gently, slowly, Naruto transferred the heavy flesh of Neji's balls to his palm, rubbing maddeningly before moving his fingers lower, over the skin of his perineum. No one had touched him there before and the Hyuuga nearly screamed as Naruto's claws ghosted over the root of his sex, fingers pressing in. The pleasure was deep and hot, shocking, as the blond massaged the hidden flesh. Neji shut his eyes and wondered if it was possible to die from overstimulation.  
"Is he ready?" Sasuke asked, voice husky against Neji's hair.  
"Nearly…" Naruto purred.  
"I want him…" Sasuke whispered, pressing his lips to the cursed tattoo on the Hyuuga's forehead.  
"You're sure? He's big…" Naruto cautioned, moving his thumb over Neji's genitals appreciatively as if to demonstrate.  
Sasuke nodded, running a hand over the Hyuuga's shivering torso. Some silent agreement passed between them, but Neji's mind was too foggy with pleasure to do anything more than note it. The blond sat up on his knees, his indigo eyes warm and fluid with desire, almost glowing in the golden light. Neji watched him and tried to relax, to think, to breathe enough air. Naruto smiled at him fondly, the expression only a little ruined by the long fangs, and tipped his head to Sasuke. They moved synchronously, Naruto pulling and Sasuke pushing, until Neji found himself on his hands and knees. A deep shudder settled into his flesh as the jinchuuriki ran a burning palm down his spine to caress his buttocks, the touch both affectionate and possessive.  
"So beautiful…" Naruto whispered admiringly.  
"T…Thank you…" He replied lamely.  
"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked softly.  
"I…It's too hot." Neji managed, mouth dry.  
"Hmm...Yes, the heat will make it easier for you to relax." Naruto purred, lips moving sensually over the nape of his neck.  
"Are you going to…um…?" Neji asked, licking his lips.  
"Soon, not yet. Don't worry." Naruto promised, motioning to Sasuke.  
Smiling like a hellion and still a little drunk, Sasuke moved in front of him and knelt low against the bed. The posture was almost like a bow, like a devotion in a temple, graceful and compliant at the same time. The elegant curves of the raven's hips and back were accentuated by the pose and Neji was hit with the realization that he was about to have sex with the most fearsome killer in all existence. Sasuke settled on his elbows, cheek pressed against the ochre silk, eyes full and very dark. Neji gasped, struck by the eroticism of the position and all it entailed. He might have tried to retreat, but Naruto's hips were pressed against his own, the blond's left hand spread wide and strong over his belly, the thick hardness of his cock couched against Neji's ass. The jinchuuriki fumbled with his other hand at the side of the bed, hunting about for the right kind of oil, and a bolt of fear lanced through Neji's mind. He had never done anything like this before and Sasuke was Naruto's…Naruto had loved Sasuke since they were children!  
"Kami! Sasuke! I…I can't…" Neji whispered, shaking his head.  
"Tch, don't tell me you're scared of topping?" Sasuke mocked.  
"That's not it! I don't even know what to do...I…" Neji protested.  
"I'll show you, it'll be good…" Naruto purred, mouthing his ear.  
"Naruto…but…"  
"Shhh…Just look at him, look at how beautiful he is. Think about that pale, gorgeous body, think about how it will feel to be inside him. I want to see you inside him, I want to see him take your cock, I want to feel you fucking him…" Naruto coaxed, reaching forward to draw a finger down Sasuke's bowed spine.  
"You have a filthy mouth, Dobe." Sasuke sniped, but moaned a little at the touch anyway.  
Neji swallowed, Naruto's words making him blush. He reached a tentative hand for Sasuke, shamefully grateful that the raven's face was pressed down into the bedding instead of watching the way his fingers shook. With something akin to awe, Neji lay his hand against the other ninja's porcelain hip, feeling the thin scars there, the corded muscle and the elegant bones beneath. Sasuke was a violent person and the texture of his body evidence of that. He was also stunning, more so than any real person should ever be. The alabaster planes of his back, rippling with powerful muscle, tapered abruptly to the raven's slender waist. His black hair, a sooty contrast against the delicate blush of his cheeks, was slightly damp with sweat and clinging sensually to his face. Sasuke was gorgeous, just as Naruto said, harmonious in a way that only a very great artist could have imagined. Imagined, but never painted. Neji had never seen a painting so lovely…Wetting his lips nervously, Neji moved his inwards to cup Sasuke's firm buttock, squeezing gently.  
"Good, rub him there, hard." Naruto instructed, demonstrating on the raven's other butt-cheek, massaging the muscular flesh deeply.  
"Ah…" Sasuke moaned and spread his legs a little.  
"Raise your hips." Naruto commanded and Sasuke cried out loud in surprise and ecstasy as the thrall surged through them.  
The raven moved, raising his ass into the air without even a hint of hesitation, hands clenched tight in the coverlet as the inhuman pleasure of the thrall pounded through his awareness. Neji could feel it too, a sensual pressure on his nerves that had nothing to do with being touched. He and Sasuke moaned in unison. When Neji's vision cleared, Naruto was squeezing the tense muscles of Sasuke hips and lower back, rubbing deeply with his thumbs.  
"So sexy…" Naruto purred, setting Neji's hands against his subordinate's ass and pulling the Hyuuga up onto his knees.  
"Does it feel good?" Neji asked softly, still dizzy from the thrall.  
"H…Hai…" Sasuke panted.  
"Rub him, harder. You have to knead the muscle or he'll be too tight. You're bigger than I am…" Naruto instructed gently, pressing firmly into the flesh of Sasuke's back.  
"I don't understand." Neji said, confused but enjoying the masculine feel of Sasuke's perfect buttocks in his hands anyway.  
"It helps him relax, prepares his body for penetration." Naruto whispered.  
"Oh." Neji gasped, eyes widening.  
They rubbed until Sasuke's skin was flushed and the muscle beneath soft and pliable. The raven was quivering now, shoulders bunching and flexing with each stroke, moving his hips back into the massage. Naruto rumbled and moved his hands lower over Neji's own, guiding the Hyuuga's fingers until their hands were cupping the darksome killer's ass, pressing outwards. Neji gasped as the rosy pucker of Sasuke's entrance was opened before him, laid bare.  
"Beautiful…" Naruto breathed.  
"Small…" Neji replied, voice brittle with both passion and terror.  
Chuckling, Naruto dug his fingers into the jar of coconut oil, smearing the thick, white substance over his thumb and fingers generously. Neji waited, breathless, as Naruto took his own hand and pressed the fragrant lubricant over the pads of his fingers. Sasuke moaned, but made no move to pull away. Naruto pressed a finger against the raven's entrance and began to rub gently, the pressure deepening as Sasuke's body softened and opened at the touch. The jinchuuriki rubbed for a while, pressing in with only enough pressure to lubricate the sensitive flesh, and soon Sasuke was audibly panting. Neji watched, amazed, as the raven's body opened for his master and the soft pad of Naruto's finger slipped easily inside.  
"See how he does that, how his body opens for me instead of tensing away? That isn't a natural reaction, but the muscle here has learned to accept penetration. It's because he's never been hurt, because I've always been careful." Naruto murmured, adding more of the oil and rubbing in a widening circle.  
"I don't want to hurt him." Neji whispered, shaking.  
"Pain is…It's just part of it…Ah! B…But the feeling blurs with the pleasure and you don't care." Sasuke panted, biting his lip.  
"Naruto…please…" Neji pleaded.  
"Touch him, you won't hurt him." The jinchuuriki chuckled.  
Neji pressed a finger beside Naruto's, shuddering at the erotic intimacy of touching Sasuke there, heart pounding. When Anko had put her fingers inside of him, it had hurt, badly. Like everything else about loving her, the vulnerability of penetration was paired with pain, any kind of vulnerability was associated with pain. Sasuke, however, seemed to be fully enjoying the caress, pressing back against Naruto's hand, taking his finger in to the knuckle. Neji moaned just to see it, to feel the silken slickness of the raven's wise body. He pressed, just a bit deeper, echoing Naruto's movements and his own finger slipped inside the tight ring of muscle beside the blond's. Neji yelped in shock and moved to pull away, but then Naruto's free hand was around his wrist, holding him firm.  
"It's good, he can take two now…" The blond oni whispered, licking his ear affectionately.  
"Kami, Sasuke…!" Neji hissed  
"Ah! Fuck! Dammit…Hyuuga…keep moving!" Sasuke snarled, pressing back against him.  
Swallowing hard, Neji obeyed him, pressing in and rubbing in a widening circle. He followed Naruto, massaging the tiny opening slowly until the flesh was soft and flexible against his hand, adding oil as Naruto drove his fingers deeper. Sasuke was thrusting back against them, the motion smooth and well-practiced, as the jinchuuriki moved to add another finger. The raven paused and whimpered at the larger intrusion, but did not flinch in pain the way Neji had when Anko penetrated him with her fingers. Instead, Sasuke rocked back against them, taking his and Naruto's fingers further into the clenching, satin, vice of his body. Neji moaned, so aroused he ached, as Naruto added a fourth finger.  
"Ugh…Hurts…" Sasuke grunted, voice strained with pain.  
"He's big, baby, bigger than you think. I gotta stretch you…" Naruto purred, leaning forward to kiss his hip.  
"D…Don't call me baby…Baka…" Sasuke hissed as he gasped and trembled, trying to adjust.  
"Oh…Oh shit…Oh…" Neji chanted, mesmerized by the tight slickness of the flesh around his fingers.  
It was like rain-wet silk, but hard too, muscular. Sasuke moaned; his face pale with pain and his eyes closed tight in ecstasy, a dichotomy of feeling Neji knew well. Naruto spread and scissored his fingers, carefully aware of Sasuke's body and his tolerance for their invasion. Soon, the raven was breathing more normally and moving back against them again. Neji swallowed hard and remembered to breathe just before he lost consciousness, twisting his hand against the muscular opening. Sasuke practically shrieked in pleasure, biting his own wrist hard enough to draw blood, body arching like a loaded bow. Neji's eyes widened. Naruto smiled against his shoulder and pulled his fingers away with a wet sound so sexual that Neji knew he would never be able to forget it.  
"Push in slowly, resist the urge to thrust in too suddenly…" Naruto was whispering, his powerful clawed fingers coating Neji's weeping cock with coconut oil.  
"I…"  
"Shh…Just push…Push slow…" Naruto instructed gently, pulling the Hyuuga tight against his own chest.  
Neji's heart was thundering in his chest, weirdly in concert with Sasuke's heavy breathing, synchronized as if they were already one. The jinchuuriki grasped his erection, thumb pressing erotically against the pounding pulse at the top of the organ, fingers wrapped firmly about him. Neji tried to breathe, to focus as the vessel moved, guiding his swollen body against the oily tightness of Sasuke's entrance. Neji was shaking, hands trembling against Sasuke's hips, some of his fingers still coated with the fragrant lubricant slipping against the raven's sweat-slick skin. He expected Naruto to hesitate, to simply hold him against the thrilling ring of Sasuke's intimate muscles for a moment, but the jinchuuriki pushed hard with his thumb. It was tight, far tighter than a woman and cooler as well, but Naruto pushed him steadily and Neji could barely find enough focus to avoid biting through his own lip. The pressure, the sensation, so much more than he had expected…  
Naruto kissed his shoulder tenderly as he forced the engorged head of Neji's cock into Sasuke's taut body, breaching him and nearly causing the Hyuuga to cum. He screamed or perhaps it was Sasuke screaming, he could not be sure. They were connected, moving through more than flesh, together in a way he had never been with anyone. Naruto's hands against him were so warm, so sure. The pressure, muscular and trembling, was almost painful. By Kami he was tight, so tight! Sasuke's body spasming around him, crushing him in erotically fluid contractions, was nearly enough to make him scream. Neji panted, shaking down to the very marrow of his bones, Naruto's strong hand around his sex the only still place. Sasuke was quivering as well, his lovely body misted with sweat and pale with the pain of being breached. The blond held him, hands like warm granite, holding him still until Sasuke could adjust. It was agony, the instinctual urge, the visceral need to move pounding through Neji's body like water through a shattered dam. Neji moaned and it sounded more like a sob, but held himself still in Naruto's arms.  
"Good…You're doing good. We just have to wait, wait a little…" Naruto panted, licking his lips.  
"H…Hai…" Neji replied shakily.  
Sasuke moaned and, bit by bit, began to move again, undulating his hips shallowly against Neji's penis. The stimulation was unbearable and Neji shrieked in both ecstasy and frustration, head thrown back against the firm rise of Naruto's shoulder. Suddenly, Naruto was pushing him again and the Hyuuga was sinking into Sasuke's perfect heat inch by aching inch, mind a perfect white blank filled only with sensation and raw desire. The raven whimpered and moaned, struggling to accept Neji’s length into his body, panting raggedly. Naruto was moving against him as well, thrusting gently against his back, moving to the primal rhythm that moved them all. Sasuke cried out as Neji penetrated him completely, thrusting the last inch with a mindless jerk, fully seated and resting inside the carnal pressure of the raven's body. They breathed together for a moment, the Hyuuga shaking with the strain of being motionless when every instinct he had ever trusted was screaming for him to move.  
"Oh…So sexy…" Naruto breathed, running his hands over each of them, down Neji's spine and over Sasuke's ass.  
"Dobe…Too much…Fuck…" Sasuke panted, shaking against Neji's hips.  
With the same powerful purpose with which he did everything, Naruto stroked his hands lower, wrapping his fingers loosely around both Neji and Sasuke's scrotal sacs, holding them together in a commanding ring. Sasuke shrieked and jerked, pressing back into Neji, the friction of the motion making the Hyuuga cry out as well. The jinchuuriki's hand was an unyielding band around them, pressing the delicate skin of their most intimate flesh together in an embrace too intense to fully comprehend. Neji was moving, pumping shallowly, Naruto's grip preventing him from pulling back too far. Sasuke screamed, hips thrusting back to meet him, back arched wantonly.  
They moved, bare inches at a time, Naruto controlling the motion far more than Neji was. Sasuke gritted his teeth, jerking back savagely against him, held from the precipice by the pressure of their alpha's fingers and the restriction of their movement. Naruto purred, moving up against Neji's ass shamelessly. Neji felt his eyes burn, gather water and release in helpless frustration only for the blond to drink his tears the way he had long ago when they were children, the way he had when Sakura lay dying. For a brittle moment, the Hyuuga thought he might have been begging, the words barely intelligible under his breath. His perspective tightened to the feeling of Sasuke's body and Naruto's hand, rational thought burned away into the roaring inferno.  
Naruto released them and Neji pulled back with a startled grunt and thrust back into Sasuke with something almost like a sob. The raven screamed, clawing at the sheets as Neji found the nerves of his prostate and pounded against the sensitive tissue. They moved together without rhythm, a writhing tangle of muscle and teeth, shrieking like madmen. Neji jerked Sasuke's legs further apart, penetrating him even more than before, groaning at the rush of fire that shot through his belly at the increased friction the position brought. He was close, so close…  
"Cum." Naruto ordered softly against the shell of Neji's ear.  
The thrall moved through their flesh like heavy lightning, the searing pleasure beyond imagination, beyond any physical sensation. Viscerally obedient, Neji's body contracted and released with pleasure so sharp and concentrated that the sensation was nearly pain. He came harder than he ever had before, filling the raven's inhumanly beautiful body with his essence. Sasuke tensed beneath him, muscles bunching like woven steel. They came, screaming together, bodies synchronized to Naruto's command. The jinchuuriki held them, peppering kisses over Neji's tingling flesh and Sasuke's back, his body the only stable support left in Neji's muzzy awareness.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Neji accepts Naruto's love, but not his thrall.

The physiologic changes characteristic of a male Jinchuuriki's 'heat' are related to the accommodations human anatomy must make for the surge of demonic energy intrinsic to the sexual cycle of the creature. Of course, it should be clarified that calling the sexual phase of a Jinchuuriki's mature rhythms a 'heat' is both an oversimplification and also poorly descriptive. Both male and female Jinchuuriki experience a period of hyper-sensitization and increased libido annually following full maturation but, unlike other animals who experience a heat as a kind of prescribed mating season, the vessels undergo profound physical changes. A Jinchuuriki's heat represents a period of energetic replenishment in which the sexual needs of the demon supersede those of the human, regardless of mating status. Though consistent statistics are unknown, most subordinates report that their Alpha's chakra can increase by ten or even twenty fold during a heat. Many wonder why, if Jinchuuriki are fertile throughout the year, such a phenomenon is necessary and occurs at all. I submit that the effects of the heat have less to do with mating than with the energetic requirements adult Jinchuuriki behavior entails. The thrall and support of any possible pregnancy of the alpha female requires incredible volumes of energy that must be readily available at any time. The convergence of chakra talents bestowed upon a fetus by the Jinchuuriki's subordinates would require energy from the creature to allow the offspring to fully develop, not to mention the gargantuan energetic pull following initiation of a thrall upon a subordinate. Much energy is needed for any kind of reproductive behavior and the heat may be when a vessel attempts to replenish and increase its chakra supply. During a heat, a Jinchuurki's chakra becomes unstable as it grows resulting in the characteristic symptoms of fever, anorexia, nausea, insomnia, hyper-sensitization, parasthesias, cognitive weakness and chronic pain experienced by the vessels. These symptoms are profound, often debilitating, and represent a reaction of the human anatomy to the dramatic increase in particularly volatile energy being cached at this time. Sexual intercourse with a subordinate or mate can alleviate these symptoms, possibly through energetic sharing that may reduce the physiologic burden of the energy a vessel would normally be forced to bear alone.  
-Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons  
Naruto watched them, watched the luscious way Neji's semen dripped from Sasuke, and felt something inside his own control snap. He was breaking under the molten weight of the moment, cracking beneath the power of their beauty, drunk on the heady eroticism in the open amazement fixed on each of his subordinates' faces. It was like Sasuke and Neji had never quite seen one another before, both of them staring open-mouthed and guileless into one another's eyes, nuzzling gently. They were killers, master Shinobi, and it was both odd and warming to watch the tender affection between them. Naruto smiled. It felt good, felt right, that they should love each other and seeing the fondness between them was like a palpable balm to his spirit. Naruto let his hands play over them, enjoying the feel of quivering muscle beneath sweat dampened skin, the subtle play of textures stimulating and sublime. Sasuke whimpered a little as Neji withdrew from him and Naruto dipped his fingers into the raven's body, searching for any injuries, worried.  
"I…I'm fine." Sasuke whispered, trembling as Naruto's fingers ghosted over the sensitized flesh.  
"Hmmm…" Naruto rumbled and kept checking.  
"Sasuke…?" Neji whispered, nuzzling against the raven's cheek, elegant face flushed with arousal.  
"I am, Hyuuga. I would know." The raven huffed, trying to sound irate  
The effort was ruined by how hard Sasuke was working to make the words steady, by the way he was leaning into the brunette's caresses, by the way he was breathing so shallowly. Naruto knew they were overwhelmed. Everything had probably been far too much too quickly, but there was no way to go back now. Sasuke sighed and gasped a little as Naruto touched him and the sound was like fuel for the roaring heat already aching in his belly. The slickness of his subordinate's open body, of warm tissues made even warmer by Neji's cum, was nearly enough to make him cry out with longing. Neji closed his eyes and breathed, mahogany hair draped temptingly over Sasuke's shoulder, lips moist and trembling as he fought to regain his breath. Kami, how could they be so beautiful? Naruto wanted them, both of them, over and over again until his scent had soaked into Neji's skin and Sasuke could no longer speak for moaning. The jinchuuriki pulled back a bit, swallowing, shutting his eyes and fighting for control, just enough so that he could be careful. He needed to be careful, very careful. The heat was making his skin feel raw and his eyes burn, pain everywhere, but Naruto knew the next part would be very dangerous if he was too reckless.  
"Naruto, are you alright?" Neji asked, silver eyes narrowed suspiciously and shining like chips of the very moon in his heated face.  
"He's hurting now." Sasuke supplied, correctly, and drew a shaking hand down Naruto's arm.  
"But…what does that mean? Are you alright or not?" Neji asked again, his tone close to the one he used for operatives in the field.  
"Come here." Naruto whispered instead.  
There was no easy way to answer the Hyuuga and the point would be moot soon regardless. He was not alright and yet he was, would be, everything was too complex and the words would just have been caught and mangled by his fangs anyway. Neji swallowed and nodded, moving to kneel beside him, still quivering with the after effects of orgasm and perhaps even something more, something the Fox sensed, but that Naruto could not really understand. His skin was flushed red over his cheeks, the Hyuuga's silver eyes startlingly limpid and, for once, un-caged. Neji stared at him awhile, waiting. Naruto managed a small smile for him and gently pulled his fingers from Sasuke's body, relieved to find no injury within him. The raven sort of collapsed with a sound half-way between a moan and a sigh, laying down on his side and watching Naruto furtively with eyes too fast and too focused to match the exhaustion in his body.  
"I want you." Naruto said at last, capturing a strand of the Hyuuga's long hair, letting the silken tendril slide through his fingers.  
"I'm ready." Neji replied and Naruto found his tone unnerving close to that of a prisoner awaiting execution.  
"We'll be careful, very careful, you'll be okay Neji…" Naruto promised, leaning in to kiss the Hyuuga's forehead.  
"Naruto, you…you don't have to…" Neji sighed, looking away.  
"Remember to relax, Hyuuga. You have to relax. Don't fight, no matter how much it feels like you should." Sasuke whispered seriously.  
"I don't want to fight." Neji replied, firming his jaw.  
"Just don't." Sasuke hissed, eyes narrowing.  
Naruto said nothing, but moved to pull Neji into his arms, kissing the older ninja hungrily. Neji's long body cleaved to his own easily, muscles made soft and flexible from his previous release, the flesh warm and nearly ready to receive him. The taste of the brunette was made even better by the lingering bite of winter fragrance left over from Sasuke's kisses, complex and harmonious. Naruto moaned against Neji's mouth and allowed himself another minute trickle of ardor, just a bit more freedom to feel, reaching low to pull the older nin's hips flush against his own. The firm strength of the genius's tongue was succulent and cool against the jinchuuriki's mouth and Naruto felt hot excitement arch into his center from the lip-play alone. They licked and nipped, stroking each other wetly until Neji was moaning against him, sucking Naruto's tongue hotly. The vessel pulled him more firmly against his own body, cupping the Hyuuga's spent penis against his palm and spreading Neji's long legs further with his thighs. Neji gasped, shaking as the position finally compromised his balance, forcing him to rest his entire weight onto the jinchuuriki's lap.  
Naruto held him easily, one hand low between them where the Hyuuga's body was already twitching into arousal again and one behind, tight against his friend's beautiful ass. Regardless of how Neji chose to move, they touched, intimately. The Hyuuga whimpered a little, thrusting once experimentally into Naruto's hand and wincing a little as the sensitized skin was rubbed. The blond kitsune chuckled under his breath.  
"So impatient, don't move yet." He whispered against Neji's throat.  
"What do you want me to do?" Neji asked, a bit irately.  
"Relax." Naruto replied, biting the Hyuuga on the long muscle of his throat in gentle chastisement.  
Neji cried out, the vibrations of the sound moving through Naruto's teeth and deep to the tingling nerves of his jaw. The intimate flesh against his hand was hotter now and more firm as well. Neji was responding, just to the position and to Naruto's lips, so exquisitely responsive. Once he was certain that the friction would feel good, the blond lifted his hand from Neji's penis and moved to pull the ninja's still softened flesh fully against his own. The Hyuuga gasped and cried out a little as his shaft was pressed against the burning hardness of Naruto's arousal, looping his arms willingly around the blond's neck.  
"Kami, you're so beautiful…" Naruto said, lathing his tongue over the creamy ridge of Neji's collar-bone.  
"Naruto…" The Hyuuga gasped.  
"Move against me now." The jinchuuriki purred.  
"Kami…" Neji choked, folding his feet delicately against the outside of Naruto's knees.  
The Hyuuga obeyed him, undulating his hips like a dancer, moving against Naruto's own swollen sex in heady thrusts. The blond kissed him, commanding his mouth, enjoying the way Neji made his lips soft for him. Time was essential, nothing to be gained by rushing. Naruto made the pace slow, playing his lips over the genius's skin, learning his throat with his tongue, nipping the tender flesh of his nipples. The coconut oil still left on his hand from Sasuke made them glide together smoothly, intimate flesh kissing at the crest of each contraction just as surely as their lips. Naruto did not press Neji's arousal against his own, not actively, but stroked him delicately with his fingers, guiding the direction of motion through suggestion alone. He knew from experience that stimulation of a man's body directly following release had to be approached warily or the touch could hurt. Naruto coaxed him, allowing the brunette to control the rhythm of their love-play, making the contact gradual until Neji's erection was full and hard against his own.  
The Hyuuga snarled under his breath, moving more aggressively. Naruto tightened his hand on the other ninja's hip, allowing them another fraction of leverage and guiding the motion. Neji grunted, licking his lips, focus directed inward on the building pleasure already warming his flesh. The feel of him was complex and delightful, every ridge and curve of his shaft pressed in an intimate caress against Naruto's own, the sensation overwhelming. Neji's waist was so small, delicate compared to the muscular hardness of the man's hips and legs. He was moving in sensuously erotic waves, like a snake charmed by a flutist, swaying over Naruto's thighs. The blond ground against the Hyuuga, gradually rubbing him back to full hardness, moving ever more powerfully as Neji's body accepted increased stimulation.  
"Ahh…Naruto…I…What is this…?" Neji murmured, crying out as he ground hard against him.  
"Is it good?" Naruto asked, smiling hotly against Neji's jaw.  
"Oh…so good, so good…" He chanted, snapping his hips against Naruto's body.  
"Then what the fuck does it matter?" Sasuke added pithily.  
"It…I'm…I've never…Ahhh!" Neji shrieked as Naruto circled them in his hand, pressing their hardened shafts together as he moved.  
"It's just love," The jinchuuriki whispered, "Just love. Don't think so much."  
Neji thrust into the ring of Naruto's fingers, moving helplessly against the blond oni's weeping penis, hands clutching his shoulders with bruising force. Naruto stilled his own body, letting Neji guide the pace and force of the sex, opening his mouth to catch more of the Hyuuga's scent. There was desire in the brunette's fragrance, heavy with the spice of cloves and the bite of pure steel, along with the subtle tang of fear. Naruto nuzzled Neji's throat, smelling the trepidation on his sweat even if there was nothing of the emotion in the Hyuuga's appearance. Neji was moving hard now, hissing hotly with each slick thrust of their bodies against each other, silver eyes half lidded and heavy with want. Naruto mastered his own need and leaned back, letting Neji ride him, allowing the other ninja a sense of control.  
Soon, the silver eyed genius was practically climbing him, imminent release thick on his scent and in the quivering intensity of his muscles. Naruto moved his hand up to squeeze the crown of Neji's erection sharply with his fingers, halting the older ninja's orgasm through sheer visceral reflex. The brunette snarled fiercely in frustration, scowling at Naruto's smile, teeth fierce and cheeks painted with a fetching blush. Kami he was so sexy, but…Control, control was crucial. Naruto had no idea what the Hyuuga's past sexual experiences had been, but his behavior with Sasuke strongly indicated that Neji had not been with other men before. The knowledge made the jinchuuriki weirdly happy, soothing some deeper anxiety he had not yet faced consciously. Just knowing that Neji would be his alone, mated to himself and the others under his control, never belonging to another, was shockingly desirable.  
Soon he would be inside the beautiful genius, in his body and in his chakra, and his friend would never be beyond Naruto's touch again. Neji was moving again, breathing hard, but the vessel knew he would not allow him to cum yet. Halting his release would keep the gorgeous nin aroused enough for Naruto to prevent Neji from reacting defensively to the sex and fighting him during initiation of the thrall. He may not like it, but the blond knew that the best way to prepare another person for initial penetration was to keep them close to the peak, body filled with endorphins and mind distracted with pleasure.  
Suddenly, Sasuke's hands were on Neji's chest, porcelain-pale against the warm cream hues of the Hyuuga's skin. The raven stroked him a bit before holding the Hyuuga's doe brown nipples delicately and giving the jinchuuriki an opportunity to reposition. Naruto smirked. Apparently Sasuke had decided that he was more than a little invested in Neji's continuing survival. The Hyuuga moaned at the touch, biting his lip as Naruto rose onto his knees and pushed them both beneath his own body, spreading Neji's legs wide. Neji whimpered softly as Sasuke sank onto his side, resting on the bed with them and kissing him roughly, cushioning the Hyuuga's head onto his arm. They were pretty, spread there beneath him, their usually savage bodies made gentle through love. Naruto groaned and let his weight rest against Neji's pelvis, bringing his intimate body against the brunette's once again, testing his tolerance for the position. Neji stiffened a little and Sasuke tightened his embrace around the other ninja like a boa constrictor, holding the Hyuuga still and open for Naruto.  
"Relax…relax…" He hissed urgently, mouthing Neji's earlobe.  
"Nghh…I…I can't…" Neji swallowed, nervous.  
"It's just love, Neji, everything is okay. Just breathe, breathe with me…" Naruto whispered, massaging the tense flesh of the other ninja's inner thighs.  
Neji gasped, the sound of the air raw and very erotic, setting Naruto's nerves on fire. Naruto rubbed him, rubbed deeply, pressing the tension out of the Hyuuga's thighs and belly with the firm pressure of his hands. He scooped his hands beneath Neji's back, gripping the twitching muscle along his spine and kneading hard, preparing Neji's body as he had Sasuke's a thousand times before. At first, the Hyuuga winced at the powerful massage, but eventually his muscles began to loosen and warm beneath Naruto's skilled hands. Naruto rubbed him, watching Neji's face as Sasuke kissed and stroked him, his free hand wrapped loosely around the brunnette's weeping erection. So close, nearly ready…Neji moaned, throwing his head back against Sasuke's arm, mahogany hair spread wide and shining around him.  
Naruto bent low and kissed them, first Neji and then Sasuke, drawing the air out of their lungs and into his own. The Hyuuga grunted as his lungs gave up their meager reserves of breath and he was left gasping, fingers tight on Naruto's arm. Sasuke, of course, smiled against Naruto's lips and then heaved the air back again, leaving the jinchuuriki feeling dizzy and a bit starved of oxygen himself. Naruto chuckled, nuzzling his smirking Teme as Neji tried to convince his hyper-sensitive body to take a full breath. It was intentional, a distraction, and the jinchuuriki moved both quickly and smoothly to turn Neji onto his belly before the Hyuuga could focus on the change in position and what it might mean.  
OoOoOoO  
Suki was late. Very late. Hiashi drummed his fingers impatiently on the low table beside him and motioned for the servant to bring him another cup of tea. The woman, Kagura he thought her name was, poured more tea into the cup, bowed and shuffled away. Suki should have returned by now and even though he trusted the woman's skill, she was rarely so late returning from a specific task without any kind of message or sign. Something must have happened, though his other spies confirmed that both Naruto and Neji had returned to the compound without incident. No one had seen Suki for several hours. It was possible that Naruto had hired an assassin to counter his effort, someone more subtle than his brutal subordinate, but unlikely. There was no need for additional operatives when Sasuke could dispatch almost any threat as easily as he had Kyo, Hiashi's team lead, and Naruto would not know the advantages of doing so anyway. The demon was too young and naïve, there was no way he would have called upon a third party, no one he could call that Hiashi had not already eliminated as a possible collaborator and the possibility assumed that the jinchuuriki suspected foul play to begin with.  
Neji's marriage into clan Uzumaki assured that Naruto could not take any kind of pre-emptive action against them, not without giving Hiashi the excuse for war he wanted anyway. Sasuke probably knew that the situation was still dangerous, but the marriage had hopefully confused him as well. He had been careful, there was no way they could know enough about his plans to thwart them with an outside assassin, but Suki was still late. The Hyuuga clan head was startled from his revelations by a sharp rapping on the sliding door of his office. He smiled, perhaps she had not disappointed him after all.  
"Enter."  
Hiashi felt the intense urge to scowl as the door opened to reveal Kiba Inuzuka instead of his favored assassin, not that Suki usually knocked anyway. He managed to keep his expression neutral, barely, as the boy moved to kneel before him and waited politely for the invitation to speak. Hiashi nodded, indicating without words that Kiba could talk, hoping the brat would state his business and leave as quickly as possible. Hinata's foolish pet watched him for a few heartbeats, letting the silence stretch, using it to increase Hiashi's anxiety. Damn him. When had the little mongrel gotten so subtle? A meeting with the house nuisance was not what Hiashi needed.  
"You seem upset, Father. What troubles you?" Kiba asked blandly and Hiashi nearly spat his tea out at the title.  
"What?" He gasped, off balance.  
"Is that inappropriate? Hinata was sure that it was the proper language with which to address ya…" Kiba asked innocently, his rough accent grating on Hiashi's nerves.  
"No, not inappropriate, but usually such formal recognition of one's relationship waits until your place in this family is more firmly established." Hiashi said coldly.  
"Guess, ya find me presumptuous." Kiba stated, brown eyes uncharacteristically chilly.  
"Very." Hiashi said, raising an eyebrow in chastisement.  
"Though, wouldn't I be proper to call you Father when your daughter carries my child?" Kiba asked, smiling victoriously.  
"What!?" Hiashi snapped, his heart nearly stopping.  
"Hinata is pregnant." Kiba said softly, but very clearly.  
The damn boy could have crowed it from the rooftop for the smugness in his savage little smile, every line of his body nothing less that utterly victorious. Hiashi stared, trying to understand what the miserable Inuzuka whelp was telling him, trying to find the lie in Kiba's eyes or posture. There was no way Hinata could be pregnant, he had seen to that.  
"You're certain?" Hiashi asked, the question coming out more like an agitated hiss.  
"Oh yeah, positive." Kiba replied, smiling sharply in a way that bared his long teeth.  
"But…"  
"The Hokage herself confirmed it. The hime is with child. Children, actually." Kiba said, cocking his head a bit in challenge, eyes gleaming.  
"Children…?" Hiashi asked, fingers tightening dangerously on the teacup.  
"Twins." Kiba confirmed, smirking.  
The teacup shattered. Hiashi swore loudly as the razor sharp porcelain shards cut into his palm, tea mixing with blood on the fine teak wood of the table. The serving woman returned with a towel, wiping away the mess efficiently even as Hiashi poured chakra into the wound, trying to heal the lacerations before the wounds made even more of a mess. Kiba remained where he was, watching with an expression too controlled to be outright hostile, but filled with smug satisfaction and defiance all the same.  
"Congratulations. You had it in you after all." Hiashi remarked coldly, working hard not to glare.  
"Thanks." Kiba said, bowing a bit as if Hiashi had just paid him a compliment.  
"Twins you say? How…unusual." Hiashi noted.  
"It's actually quite common in my family." Kiba shrugged  
"Yes, I suppose a litter would be."  
"Another thing our clans share in common." Kiba said, smiling happily as Hiashi twitched at the uncomfortable reminder of his own twin.  
"Certainly a blessing, though such pregnancies are more dangerous…"  
"Hina is strong."  
"Yes, she must be indeed to give you an heir and a serf to attend him all in one rutting. How perfect." Hiashi mused cruelly, narrowing his eyes  
"Your own twin served ya well enough, or so I'm told." Kiba countered tartly.  
"Perhaps your own children will enjoy the same…opportunity." Hiashi offered nastily.  
"Yeah, well, not everyone disposes of their siblings so easily." The boy snarled.  
"Watch your tongue!"  
"Or what? You'll kill me? I'd like to see ya try…" Kiba laughed, the sound low and very dangerous.  
"Careful, boy…"  
"I have as much power in this family as you do now." Kiba said, smiling triumphantly, "Hina will rule the clan and there ain't nothing ya can do to stop her..."  
"You're nothing more than a pet!" Hiashi railed.  
"Maybe, but I'll be her pet for the rest of your miserable life and that's more than you have to look forward to, old man…"  
"How dare you! You'll suffer for this!"  
"Yeah, too bad you're powerless already. Hina thinks that maybe you're getting too frail for all your precious intrigue, the stress might be too much. A few more years and no one will blink twice when she decides to replace ya, lock ya up to spend yer sunset years under her pretty little heel…" Kiba continued, flopping onto his side comfortably.  
"Insolent brat, she's my daughter…"  
"But she's my wife and she got to choose me. Maybe I'll be kneeling at her feet, but that's a lot closer to her ear than you'll ever be. I hear confinement sucks, but we wouldn't want ya to be…strained." Kiba yawned, smiling like a demon.  
"You'll never…"  
"Oh, I think she will. It'd be for your health after all. The pet of a clan head is a pretty good position in comparison, don't ya think?" Kiba shrugged, crossing his arms insolently.  
"Too good, especially for you."  
"Ouch, I hoped ya'd feel differently Father…My children will be your legacy after all." Kiba snickered cruelly.  
"We'll see. Things are still so…early." Hiashi threatened softly.  
"True. Good thing there's two of the puppies. Such a thing does help to make little problems like legitimacy and security of lineage so much easier. Glad I'm so fertile." Kiba said, smiling slow and meaningfully.  
Hiashi said nothing, shocked silent by the implication. He knew. They had been so careful, but the dog-brat knew anyway. Hiashi did not know how, but the little bastard seemed to know he had been drugging Hinata with contraceptives. Not only that, but the damned mongrel had thwarted him somehow too and now the girl was pregnant, pregnant with twins. The statement was the threat, a promise that if Hiashi interfered with the pregnancy Kiba would have the means to call upon his own people for a clan war in retaliation. Inuzuka was a low house, rough and uncultured, but a strong one nonetheless. Victory against them would be hard, especially if he suffered losses fighting Naruto, almost inevitable with a jinchuuriki. Kiba might be bluffing, at least about having grounds enough for righteous war, but there was no way to know for sure. Hiashi was neatly tied, cornered between accepting Kiba's legitimacy and risking the chance that the boy's clan would wipe them out, trapped in his own web.  
For a moment, Hiashi merely watched the boy's eyes, watched the protective aggression there and knew that Hinata was indeed pregnant as far as Kiba knew. The rage was like frozen mercury in his veins, heavy and cold in his belly, making him sick. Kiba bowed casually, barely a bow at all with his damn nose almost a foot from the tatami, the insult as clear as if he had slapped Hiashi's face. The Hyuuga clan leader seethed and scowled, but remained silent as the brat stood and left with a haughty wave, grinning like a rabid wolf. Hiashi turned and crushed the teapot against the wall, his vision clouding with anger, the crash of shattering porcelain dull against the roaring of rage in his ears. He wanted to kill the stupid cur and his whore daughter as well, crush them into nothing, but he could only sit alone with his anger and ache for violence. Kiba was right. He was helpless.  
OoOoOoO  
Naruto allowed Neji a few moments to breath before gripping the muscles of his lower back and rubbing again, almost crying out himself at the small sound of pleasure escaping the brunette's lips. He covered the other ninja, kissing the nape of Neji's neck and nuzzling his shoulders, allowing him to acclimate a bit to the vulnerability of another male pressed close against his back. Neji did not seem uncomfortable, even as Naruto pulled him fully against his chest and carded his fingers through the endless mahogany tresses of his hair. The Hyuuga was beginning to lose himself to the moment, overwhelmed by the physical sensation of Naruto's careful teasing. Perfect.  
"Sasuke, the aloe…" Naruto whispered.  
"Oh Kami…" Neji hissed, shuddering and shutting his eyes tightly.  
"Aloe? Not coconut oil?" Sasuke asked as he rose from his side to kneel beside them.  
"It's probably better for the first time." Naruto replied softly, turning to kiss the raven gently. Sasuke's eyes widened.  
"Is…is it what you used on me?" Sasuke asked, blushing.  
"I don't know, Sakura decided that. I don't really…well…I was trying to focus on other things." Naruto said, looking away, lips tight with regret.  
Sasuke cocked his head, studying Naruto's tone, but then nodded and moved to retrieve the lubricant. The heat had been so strong when he finally took Sasuke that Naruto barely remembered anything at all except the tightness of the raven's body and his own terror. He'd been young, foolish, and at the very edge of his mental integrity, but Naruto wished he had managed to remember some more of the details. Taking Sasuke's virginity had probably been the most important thing he had done in his life, other than saving Konoha, and yet most of his memories about it were fuzzy and heavily colored with pain. They had both lived, barely, and Naruto remembered coming out of the fevered haze to find Sasuke still and bleeding beneath him, he remembered the terror of it before the raven woke again.  
Still, there must have been more than pain and fear and madness, there had to have been sex too, after all. Naruto wished he knew. If there were words, or pleasure or kisses he did not remember, no matter how hard he tried. Sakura said the brain damage he suffered trying to claim Sasuke may have been healed by the preternatural power of Kyuubi, but the memories his mind was trying to make that night had been lost forever. He shuddered a little. Nothing like that would happen with Neji, he would not allow it. He was older now, smarter, and the Hyuuga actually knew what to expect from Sasuke's recollections. Everything would be okay, he had to believe it.  
"It…was bad wasn't it?" Neji asked softly, pressing his cheek to the bedding as he had seen Sasuke do before, silver eyes warm and a little sad.  
"Don't worry," Naruto soothed, "We were young, we made mistakes. It won't be that way now."  
"You don't remember." Neji said, nodding to himself as if he already knew the answer.  
"Not much." Naruto confessed, pressing kisses down the Hyuuga's spine rather than elaborating.  
"I'm sorry." Neji whispered, arching up against Naruto's lips.  
"Shhh, no more talking." Naruto ordered with a low chuckle, setting his teeth gently against the bones of the Hyuuga's spine.  
The silver-eyed nin moaned at the touch and shivered, arching into his waiting hands like a cat. Tonight was not about old regrets, but about something new, a chance for previous mistakes to be rectified in some way. Naruto rubbed the Hyuuga's lower back again, digging deep into the muscles with his thumbs until Neji's body warmed and released any stress the conversation might have brought. Sasuke watched furtively beside him, the small jar of thick aloe gel warming in his hands. Naruto pressed a hand against Neji's flexing belly, encouraging the ninja to raise his hips and then sliding one of the many pillows beneath him for support. If everything went as planned, Neji would not be paying enough attention to maintain the position on his own. Sasuke touched him as well, making gentle corrections to the Hyuuga's posture, pushing his shoulders lower onto the sheets and tenderly brushing his long hair away from his face.  
Naruto let his hands rest on the brunette's buttocks and when Neji remained relaxed despite the inherent vulnerability of the touch, he continued the massage, rubbing hard. His friend's body was more sinewy that Sasuke's, less thick muscle and more long tendon, which forced Naruto to change his usual technique. He pulled the muscle more instead of only pushing in, gratified when the tension melted from Neji's shoulders leaving the lovely genius in a tempting heap on the bed, panting softly. Using his palms, Naruto slowly pushed the reddened cheeks apart, exposing him slowly to avoid the inevitable discomfort such an action brought as much as possible.  
For a moment, the jinchuuriki simply looked, taking in the tiny size of his friend's entrance and the subtle differences in color from Sasuke. The raven's intimate body was very rosy, red if they'd been active, but Neji was a dusky pink and the flesh was tight, closed. So, he probably had never allowed another person to enter his body, at least not for a very long time. Naruto swallowed, suddenly nervous even if his vision was slowly bleeding red with the heat and desire such intimacy stirred in him. Sasuke watched, eyes huge and strange in his normally haughty face, posture uncertain.  
"So small…Are you a virgin?" He whispered, looking at Neji curiously.  
"Sasuke…" Naruto warned.  
"No. I have experience." The Hyuuga huffed defensively.  
"Have you ever had a male lover? Tell me the truth, that part is important." Naruto asked firmly, kissing the top of Neji's tail-bone.  
"No." He whispered, closing his eyes at the intimate touch.  
"Then you are." Sasuke decided, stroking Neji's hip gently despite the tone of his words.  
"Pretty sure certain people would argue that." Neji said, cracking an eye to glare at Sasuke.  
"Some people lose their virginity to a woman, Teme. It still counts." Naruto said, annoyed.  
"Tch, you're such a slut…" The raven sniffed arrogantly. Naruto rolled his eyes.  
"That's funny coming from you." Neji replied, baring his teeth.  
"Enough." Naruto hissed, using the thrall before they could get into a real fight. Now was very seriously not the time.  
"B…Baka…" Sasuke moaned, closing his eyes and shivering as the thrall compelled him.  
Neji shivered as well, gasping in ecstasy almost in unison with Sasuke. It was odd, odd that the thrall should excite him, provoke such a similar reaction, when Naruto would have thought seeing Sasuke controlled that way might actually be a bit frightening. As it was, both his subordinates moaned and trembled as if the power of the thrall already united them. The effect was so heady, so erotic, that Naruto was suddenly fully occupied trying maintain his own control. He clenched his fists, pricking the moist skin of his palms with his own sharp claws for the clarity the pain brought with it, clarity he badly needed. The blond allowed himself a few breaths before exposing Neji again, the urge to touch, to claim, still powerful in his blood. He had to be careful, careful…careful as a mole.  
"I'm going to touch you. Just touch…" Naruto whispered hoarsely when he could breathe again, coating his fingers in the slick aloe Sasuke offered him.  
"Hai." Neji replied, breathing the word into the sheets.  
Sasuke said nothing, but watched closely, pressing his lips together in a subtle show of anxiety. The jinchuuriki smeared the chilly lubricant over his fingers, letting it warm before moving to rest the pad of his finger against Neji's closed body. The Hyuuga's reaction was immediate and very startling. He winced, flinching hard away from the touch, fists clenched white knuckled against the blankets. Naruto pulled his hand away, narrowing his eyes with concern. That was bad, very bad, and he had barely even touched him. Neji should not have felt any pain at all. The Hyuuga's response was not right, no way it could be, Master Jiraiya said that no one reacted that way unless... Naruto swallowed even as his mouth went dry, a surge of anger rising up from within to choke him. No, apparently Neji was not a virgin, despite how he looked. Even worse, it was possible that the lover who came before might have broken him. Sasuke glanced at Naruto, the question sharp in his black eyes, but thankfully unspoken.  
"Go get the lubricant from Sakura's burn kit, Teme." Naruto ordered softly.  
"What?"  
"The burn gel, please go get it."  
"Baka, that stuff has lidocaine in it! He won't feel a thing!" Sasuke argued.  
"We may need it."  
"But…"  
"Go, Sasuke. Now." Naruto snapped.  
Sasuke shivered with the thrall, growling in annoyance even as his eyes filled with ecstasy. He was motionless for only a moment more before rising and grabbing a yukata from the closet. The raven pulled the garment on and left without another word, shutting the door with more of an irate snap than absolutely necessary in Naruto's opinion. Neji flinched again at the sound, biting his lip. Instead of moving away, Naruto resumed his previous position crouched over the Hyuuga's back, stroking his shoulders soothingly. Neji made a sound almost like a curse and hid his face in the coverlet.  
"Let's talk." The blond said softly.  
OoOoOoO  
Neji felt like cursing or running, likely both, but Naruto was pressing him into the bed with both his weight and the sheer magnetism of his presence, neatly keeping him in one position without provoking an argument. He should have known that Naruto would be put off by the way he reacted, by the way Anko had taught his body to react. The response was nothing more than a remnant of one of the kunoichi's many failed attempts to scare him out of her bed and Neji had been planning to simply control himself. All he had to do was hold still and take it, just like she said, and there was the strong possibility that it would not actually hurt at all. After all, Sasuke even seemed to enjoy it and there would be no security for any of them until he was under the thrall. It had to be done and now there was a strong chance Naruto would just decide not to for fear of scaring him, that he would wait and everyone would be treading on eggshells again. Neji cursed himself, angry that he had allowed them to distract him so easily.  
He should be able control his own body and the reflex was still subject to his higher mind if he was focused, but the jinchuuriki was very good at diverting people's thinking. Neji bit his lip, angry at Naruto even though he knew it was stupid, knew that he was the one who had messed up. He had been so caught up in Naruto's caresses, so overwhelmed by the pleasure, that when the touch to ready him for penetration came he was not prepared at all. Escape was both impossible and just plain stupid, but the Hyuuga wondered if it was worth trying anyway.  
"Neji, talk to me." Naruto whispered kindly, the jinchuuriki's warm breath tickling his ear.  
"Why?" Neji snarled softly.  
"So I know what to expect. Who was it?" The jinchuuriki asked, unperturbed.  
"Does it matter?"  
"Yes, it does. I want to know who hurt you and how. Believe it." Naruto said, keeping his tone level despite the radiant hostility in Neji's eyes.  
The Hyuuga pressed his lips together and turned away. Talk was cheap and nothing could change the past, but Naruto insisted on it anyway. That was dumb, what was the point? He knew that he had no right to be angry, but it was better than the other emotions broiling in his mind, infinitely better than facing the fear and shame. He and Anko had done things with and to each other that most people would not only find bizarre, but outright sick. Naruto would never understand.  
"No one hurt me. It isn't what you think." Neji whispered.  
"Yes, someone did and I want to know what happened." Naruto argued mildly, smiling gently against his shoulder, trying to set him at ease.  
"It's not like I was…It isn't what you think." Neji repeated, swallowing hard.  
"Tell me what happened and I'll tell you what I think." Naruto offered.  
"No. It's none of your business." He hissed.  
"I think it is. Someone hurt you…" Naruto repeated, tone carefully neutral, placing a hand on his hip as if for emphasis.  
"No…I…" He struggled wetting his lips nervously.  
"Did it happen on a mission?" Naruto asked gently.  
"No!" Neji snapped.  
"Then, someone… someone maybe you loved?" The blond offered, moving to find Neji's eyes with his own, looking oddly worried.  
"Yes." Neji sighed, helpless in the face of the searching blue of the oni's gaze.  
"A woman?"  
"Yes." Neji answered again, shuddering.  
"How?" Naruto asked softly.  
"I don't want to talk about it."  
"I know, but try anyway. How?" Naruto asked again.  
"Her fingers mostly, sometimes other things, nothing really dangerous…" Neji whispered, shutting his eyes at last.  
"Were you restrained?" Naruto asked, tracing the Hyuuga's eyebrows with the ticklish tips of his claws.  
"No, no! You're making it seem…I mean…it wasn't like she abused me!" Neji spat, glaring again.  
"Were you restrained?" Naruto asked again, more firmly, his hand tightening on the Hyuuga's hip.  
"Yes, but…"  
"Neji…" Naruto breathed, closing his eyes, anger twitching in the muscles of his jaw.  
"It was consensual!" The Hyuuga snarled.  
"Okay, is there a reason you wanted her to hurt you?" Naruto asked, voice still warm and very patient.  
"No, but…She wanted to protect me."  
"And that was how she chose to do it?" The jinchuuriki asked.  
"Yes…no…I mean, she didn't want to, not really…" Neji struggled.  
"I don't understand." Naruto whispered, smiling apologetically.  
"Well, it wasn't…it wasn't only her…" Neji breathed, feeling suddenly close to hysteria.  
"There was someone else?"  
"No, but…We…we hurt each other." Neji confessed, feeling ugly.  
Naruto was quiet for a long time, digesting the confession, face closed and more emotionless than Neji could ever remember seeing him. A deep sinking feeling crept into his belly, cold and ugly where before there had only been the succulent warmth of Naruto's kisses and Sasuke's beauty. Neji had no idea what they would think, whether or not Naruto could even accept him now, knowing that his past was so twisted. Neji thought Sasuke might understand, sympathize even, but somehow that possibility was even worse. The emotion roiled in his belly, bringing tears to his eyes, tears he was unwilling to shed. Despite his silence, Naruto never stopped touching him, leaning close and hot over his back. Neji shivered, feeling exposed, guilty.  
"Why would a person hurt someone they love?" Naruto asked at last, voice firm if barely above a whisper.  
"To try to make them stop loving you, to make them hate you so that eventually you will be forced to let them go..." Neji answered.  
"Oh. Yeah, Sasuke tried that too." Naruto said, chuckling a little.  
"How did it work for him?" Neji asked, feeling a tender flicker of hope.  
"Well, he's gotten himself locked into my house, under my control and mine to have wild sex with whenever I want to. That probably wasn't his original goal." Naruto smirked, kissing Neji's hair.  
"Yeah, probably not." Neji acceded with a mad little laugh, feeling relieved.  
"How'd it work for you? Did you hate her?" Naruto asked gently.  
"No. I never did." He sighed.  
"That's probably a good thing." The blond said, nodding.  
"Yeah…" Neji sighed.  
"But, I won't do that to you. I'll never do anything like that. That is not how love works for me, for us, not ever…" Naruto warned.  
"Do…do you still want me?" Neji whispered, worried.  
"So bad I think I might die, believe it." Naruto laughed, biting his shoulder teasingly.  
Neji laughed and suddenly felt lighter than he had in years. Naruto nuzzled the nape of his neck affectionately, nibbling the sensitive shell of his ear, and he was suddenly aware that the jinchuuriki was still very hard. He shivered. The blond kitsune smiled against the skin of his shoulder and began mouthing his way down Neji's back, playing his lips and teeth over every ridge of the Hyuuga's spine, the touch even more erotic than it had been before. The Hyuuga felt his body warm to the caresses, the velvety skin of the blond's arousal against the tingling flesh of his hip hot and intense. Naruto reached low, grasping his sex confidently and stroking slow and deep. Neji moaned. The friction of Naruto's thumb against the sensitive skin of his penis made heat blossom anew through the Hyuuga's belly like fire through dry tinder, made his breath hitch and his balls heavy with need. By the time they heard Sasuke's irate tread in the hall, Neji was moaning aloud as Naruto loved him, arching his body up against the Jinchuuriki's hands, and tongue and teeth. Sasuke entered the room with a heavy huff, raising an eyebrow as Neji bit down into the bedding to keep from screaming.  
"You've been busy." Sasuke accused, crossing his arms.  
"Very." Naruto said, smiling triumphantly against Neji's shoulder.  
"I got your stupid burn gel, moron." Sasuke spat, shedding the yukata as one would a rain-soaked cloak and stomping back onto the bed.  
"Perfect, Teme…" Naruto purred, pausing to bite Neji's left buttock, tugging the captured flesh roughly.  
"Ahhh! Naruto…" Neji shrieked, writhing against the mound of pillows beneath his hips like a panicked horse in quicksand.  
"That will make it nicer." The blond rumbled  
"Tch, I still think it's stupid." Sasuke huffed as he knelt and placed the jar into Naruto's waiting hand.  
Despite his tone, Sasuke moved to lay down beside Neji almost immediately, stroking his deadly fingers through the older nin's hair gently. His actions were always at odds with his words, almost meaningless really, and Neji moved to twine his fingers with Sasuke's in order to still the subtle trembling there. Holding hands was odd, something people did when they were too enamored with one another to care about appearances, but it felt good anyway. Sasuke's hand gripped him, bruised him, tight and focused even as Naruto proceeded to melt the rest of his reality into hot, white nothing. The jinchuuriki was stroking his testicles, warm hands wise on the heavy flesh, each touch more deeply pleasurable than the last. Neji moaned, the very marrow of his bones quivering in anticipation of the next caress.  
Even now, neither touching nor looking at one another, the demon and his subordinate managed to work together to overwhelm him. Sasuke lay a breath from his own face, nose nearly brushing Neji's own, staring into his eyes fearlessly as Naruto brought his trembling body to the edge of orgasm once again. Neji met Sasuke's eyes and stared, shocked by how expressive the raven could be, how the sooty depths of his gaze seemed endless without the shield of the sharingan to obscure him. There was worry in those ebony portals, and lust and eagerness too along with the shadow of some inner frailty, something still young and very frightened. Neji looked and felt consumed, saturated with emotion as Naruto claimed his body and Sasuke his mind, nothing left but heat.  
"This will make it easier, more comfortable at first…" Naruto said and Neji could hear the tiny click as he opened the lubricant.  
Neji thought perhaps he should say something, but Sasuke was kissing him, sharp teeth cruel against his lips in odd counterpoint to the gentle affection of the raven's fingers. Naruto spread Neji's buttocks, leaving him with the uncanny sensation of normally protected skin left exposed to the air, of being viscerally open, vulnerable. The Hyuuga tensed his body and managed to hold still as Naruto placed a cool finger against his anus, coating the sensitive flesh with the tingling ointment. His thighs were shaking with the effort of maintaining contact, not pulling away, of fighting the instinctual fear of pain. Naruto touched him for a moment, barely a heartbeat, before removing his hand and allowing Neji's belly to relax and begin unraveling itself from the tight knot it had cramped into after the effort of trying not to flinch. Soon, the tender flesh began to feel cool, then warm and then not much at all, weirdly distant. Naruto bent close and kissed the lower ridge of his tailbone again before blowing lightly against the tight skin of Neji's entrance. The warmth of the air was shocking against the skin of his buttocks, cool on the moisture Naruto's lips had left on the bottom of his spine, but he barely felt anything in the most sensitive place of all. The Hyuuga nearly yelped in surprise.  
"But…?" Neji asked, confused.  
"Don't worry, the numbness doesn't last long and it's only on the surface." Naruto explained, already moving.  
"The surface isn't important." Sasuke added hotly, stroking his face.  
Neji felt an odd pressure, very distant, and then Naruto's slickened finger was inside him, moving shallowly. He never actually felt the penetration, the drug numbing the breach so that one moment there was nothing and the next a foreign presence in his body that felt nothing like it had when Anko had done it. There was no pain, very little sensation at all other than a weird kind of fullness, and Neji did not have to fight himself to relax as Naruto stroked his inner body with the pad of his finger. There was movement, but very shallow and without the accompanying sensation on his skin it was very hard for Neji to tell what exactly Naruto was doing. The jinchuuriki was probably looking for injuries, but he already knew that Anko was far too careful to leave scars, at least not physical ones. The Hyuuga relaxed against the pillows and let him mind wander, the penetration still innocuous and quite clinical, far less interesting than the way Sasuke was trying to put his tongue into his mouth. The raven hissed and bit his lips, demanding entrance haughtily. Someone should really teach Sasuke how to kiss without biting, Neji thought muzzily, pinching the raven sharply on the shoulder in reproach.  
Despite the anesthetic, the moment lost none of its heat and Neji found himself moaning softly into Sasuke's mouth, enjoying the warmth strength of Naruto's lips on his neck and the small of his back. The jinchuuriki was still stroking his erection constantly, moving gently and relatively slowly, but the rhythm was keeping him hard all the same. It still felt like sex, stimulating and pleasurable, without the shock or pain he had come to expect. Naruto moved within him, stroking, and the sensation gradually began to change. Neji could feel him as the jinchuuriki pushed deeper, feel the texture of his hand, the hardness of his claw and the subtle ridges on the pads of his finger. The blond was moving differently too, no longer exploring, but pushing in and out, the motion rhythmic and sensual. Neji grunted and tightened his body on reflex.  
"Relax, it won't feel good if you're tense." Naruto murmured.  
"O…Okay…" Neji gasped, shuddering as the rigid strangeness of the penetration began to filter into his awareness.  
He relaxed, forcing his body into softness through sheer will, and Naruto rumbled approvingly as he added aloe to the layer of burn gel and used the increased lubrication to push in a bit more. The lidocaine was wearing off, slowly, but the difference was radical nonetheless. Before he had only felt pressure, a sensation of vague visceral fullness, and now every movement of the jinchuuriki's hand came with stretch, heat, friction and a disturbingly intimate kind of pleasure. Naruto moved and Neji was suddenly aware that his finger was nearly all the way inside him, the bony width of his second knuckle introducing a different level of texture, rubbing the inner walls of his body in a way that made him feel vulnerable and very submissive. The skin of his entrance also began to feel unexpectedly tender and raw, like hot water on sunburned skin, but the pain was still only a shadow in his awareness. Pain was hard to think about, hard to really focus on, when every thrust of the jinchuuriki's finger was stroking places Neji could never remember being touched before, filling his body with tingling fire. It was stimulating, sexual, and the fullness had begun to feel incredibly erotic as well.  
Neji moaned, thrusting into the hand Naruto still had wrapped around his penis, blushing hotly at the intimate feel of the blond's finger in his body combined with the stimulation of his erection. He was trapped, captured in the kitsune's embrace, and it was the most sensually overwhelming experience he had ever had. The movement of his hips, the instinctual undulation into the close embrace of the jinchuuriki's hot fist, only pressed Naruto's finger more deeply. Soon Neji was moving and helpless to stop, his body open for Naruto, full with him and beginning to ache as the blond moved to stretch the tense muscles of his inner walls. The jinchuuriki was rubbing more confidently now, probably stretching him the way he had Sasuke, working in a widening circle. Knowing how it would work somehow made it better, easier to relax. There was pain, a deep and quivery kind of ache, but it seemed unimportant compared to the sensation oftouch. He panted, shaking and unable to stop, as Naruto thrust into his body again and pressed something searing, electric and mind shatteringly ecstatic.  
"Ah! Kami!" Neji shrieked, jerking back hard against his alpha's hand.  
"Oh, yeah…There you are…" Naruto said, the smile obvious in his voice and filled with victory.  
"Nghh…Ahhh!" Neji shrieked again as the blond moved to touch him again.  
"Feels sexy, right?" Sasuke asked, smirking accusingly.  
"Oh fuck! H…Hai…" Neji managed, his vision still swimming with the intensity of the pleasure.  
Naruto pressed again, massaging the tingling bundle of nerves, and white hot ecstasy pounded through Neji's body. Hot pleasure thundered through his body, building heavy and burning in his belly, sizzling all the way up his spine. He moaned, thrusting back again, meeting Naruto with an aggressive snap of his hips. Whatever the jinchuuriki was touching felt like nothing else he had ever experienced and Neji was screaming, hard and on the edge of orgasm so quickly that his vision swam with the rush of it. His entire body was singing with fire, tingling, the silk of the bedding and Naruto's palm rough against the heated skin of his erection. Neji shrieked and Naruto added another finger, the ache of the larger penetration barely perceptible in the moments before the sensation was lost in the typhoon of pleasure the jinchuuriki was kindling inside him. The blond was stretching him, coaxing the stiff muscles to open, the intimate fullness growing along with the fire arching through Neji's overloaded nerves.  
"Almost, almost…" Naruto chanted, pumping him.  
"Kami! Naruto!" Neji cried as the blond added a third finger, his body full and hot with the blond as he had never been before.  
"Relax, don't fight, relax…please…please relax…" Sasuke hissed, black eyes intense, boring into his own.  
Neji shut his eyes, beyond thought, rapidly approaching climax as the sensation crawled over his flesh. The visceral ache of penetration intensified, the raw pain of protected, internal skin being touched clashing with the roaring joy of the caress. Naruto's hand was no longer around his penis and he almost didn't care, the pleasure within was so deep, so strong, consuming in a way sex with Anko had never been. He moaned as Naruto's thumb moved low to stroke the base of his scrotum, almost ticklish compared to the scalding delight thrumming through his body with each aching push of the jinchuuriki's fingers. The fullness was intense, bordering on pain, and Neji whimpered as the blond moved within him. He felt fragile, compromised, totally out of control. Naruto removed his fingers and Neji cried out at the loss.  
"Okay. Relax now, baby, relax for me…" Naruto whispered as moved to rub the slickened head of his erection against Neji's open body.  
"Naruto…" Neji moaned, a bolt of animal terror lancing through him at the contact.  
"Tch, don't call him 'baby', if you want him to relax! Baka!" Sasuke snapped.  
"Don't be scared." The jinchuuriki said, still just rubbing experimentally on the surface, his touch burning.  
"I am…I am…" Neji replied closing his eyes tightly.  
"Take a breath." Sasuke hissed, gripping his chin roughly.  
"Sasuke…"  
"Breathe, Hyuuga, now!" The raven ordered.  
Neji inhaled and Naruto pushed inside, moving smooth and slow. Heavy, visceral pain radiated through his body as the jinchuuriki pushed past the tender ring of twitching muscle and through to enter Neji's body. He yelped, losing the air Sasuke had ordered him to take as Naruto moved inside of him, stretching the tight passage until his muscles screamed and a film of chilly sweat erupted over his skin. The sensation was strange, painful, but the discomfort was minor compared to the frightening intimacy of the act. He tried to writhe away on pure reflex, the throbbing pain too close to what he had experienced before to ignore or control. Naruto's hand was like warm granite on his neck, holding him down, holding him still. Neji panicked, trying to scream, but the sound caught jaggedly in his throat.  
"No! No! Just relax! It won't hurt if you relax!" Sasuke shouted.  
"Fuck, Teme, I can't…I can't stop…" Naruto choked, the words giving way to a feral snarl.  
"Shit!" Sasuke cursed.  
The hand upon his neck was tight and strong, graced with powerful claws. Neji jerked, trying instinctively to throw Naruto away, but it was like trying to move against the might of the ocean itself. The blond oni was as powerful as any current, elemental and unstoppable, but Neji fought him anyway. He thrashed, caught helplessly in the blond's inhumanly strong grasp, his body full and aching with Naruto's foreign heat. With a warning hiss, the jinchuuriki captured his wrist and pressed the Hyuuga down hard into the bed, forcing the air from his lungs. Sasuke took advantage of the opportunity to pinch Neji's nose closed, effectively suffocating him for the space of a heartbeat, forcing the rest of his body to relax. Being deprived of air did nothing to soothe his panic, but both he and Naruto were beyond simple logic. As his lungs burned, Neji's was blearily aware of his body releasing its tension involuntarily, redirecting all his physical focus onto the task of breathing. He gasped and Naruto moved, snarling low in a tone that shook the very marrow of Neji's bones.  
Braced for agony, the Hyuuga shrieked in shock as fiery pleasure exploded through his body instead, burning away the pain in a molten flood of feeling. He ached still, but the discomfort was indistinct and distant, like a storm in the mountains that could be heard only if one listened. Naruto rumbled, his hand caressing the nape of Neji's neck possessively, deadly claws resting just above his pulse. He moaned, moving back against the blond unconsciously, chasing the thrumming ecstasy. Before, Naruto had touched the delicate nerves within him, but the sensation had been only a shadow of what it was now. Now the jinchuuriki was pounding against him, driving sizzling darts of pleasure through his nerves like sparks from a raging forest fire, each stroke shattering his thoughts into white hot noise. They moved, Neji obeying the powerful gravity of Naruto's hips as the jinchuuriki drove them both closer to the precipice. Naruto's breath against his back was scalding, the sharpened caress of his teeth ticklish against the junction of Neji's shoulder.  
There was a breath and a strange moment of stillness, the silence before a cyclone, and then Naruto was sinking his teeth deeply into the Hyuuga's flesh. Blood dripped from the wound, the sharp tearing of skin and muscle piercing and dissonant in the surging pleasure. The jinchuuriki held him in his jaws, rumbling hotly, and thrust deep. White hot ecstasy flooded his body, clashing with the pain, ringing cacophonously. Neji moaned and screamed and moaned again, lost to the feeling, the distinction between thought and reality, love and desire, affection and possession lost as Naruto claimed him. No thought, no pain, just the roaring eroticism of the jinchuuriki's touch and the endless chasm of Sasuke's eyes. In his mind, they almost became one, Naruto in him and Sasuke beside him. Somehow Sakura was with him too, molded together in both feeling and memory, forged into liquid fire thrust like magma into his veins as Naruto loved him. The complexity of it was startling, too much to comprehend. He loved them, Kami, so much… Neji cried out and released, body jerking as his essence spilled into Naruto's ready palm, the tingling heat crawling up his spine.  
Naruto plunged into his trembling body a few more times before tensing and releasing as well. Neji moaned brokenly as the jinchuuriki pumped warmth into his body, the heat radiating, filling his bowels and belly. Slowly, carefully, Naruto released him from his jaws, lapping at the wounds even as the skin closed and healed. Neji flinched a little, the itching of the closing skin startling. He was breathing shallowly as if he had run a long distance, hair stuck wetly to his cheek with sweat, body spent and shaking with fatigue. Naruto nuzzled against him, taking his time, fingers pressed lightly against the jumping pulse in Neji's throat. Neji closed his eyes and relaxed into the affection, feeling warm and comfortable, at peace. He whimpered a little when Naruto withdrew, still hard, from his body.  
It was only after a few careful breaths that Neji finally turned and gasped at the shock and horror in Sasuke's expression. The raven's eyes were raging scarlet and swirling with his sharingan, mouth pulled back into a snarl, baring his teeth. Neji moved, trying to rise onto his elbows, the movements awkward and clumsy with fatigue.  
"What the fuck did they do to you?" Sasuke hissed, sitting up onto his knees angrily.  
"What?" Neji asked, blinking dumbly.  
"Teme, hang on…" Naruto panted, holding up a hand as if to restrain him.  
"The thrall! The thrall! He isn't under the thrall!" Sasuke snarled.  
"I know, but…" Naruto hedged.  
"What?! But, I am, I…" Neji murmured, shaking his head, confused.  
"No! That isn't IT! He didn't claim you!" The raven shouted, interrupting him.  
"Sasuke, just calm down…" Naruto said, reaching for him.  
"NO! Something is WRONG! Something is WRONG with him!" Sasuke railed, pulling his arm from Naruto's grasp.  
"I don't understand…" Neji whispered helplessly.  
"The chakra transfer, it didn't happen." Naruto whispered, stroking Neji's back soothingly.  
"But…I felt…"  
"That was just sex! He didn't…I don't know why…It's not the same!" Sasuke growled, turning away, hands balled into hard fists.  
"Sasuke, please. It isn't Neji's fault." Naruto said, sighing.  
"Wait, I…I don't understand what's wrong." Neji said, feeling cold.  
"They did something to you, they had to! Hiashi must have done something to your energy, they must have…" Sasuke snarled, meeting Neji's eyes angrily.  
"No!" Neji cried, eyes widening as he began to comprehend the gravity of what had not happened.  
"If they did, it's not his fault. People can't be blamed for what their families do to them." Naruto said pointedly, mouth firm.  
"It doesn't matter who's fault it is! You can't claim him!" Sasuke spat.  
"Please! Sasuke, Naruto! No one has done anything to me!" Neji protested.  
"Shhh, don't worry. It's okay, we'll figure it out." Naruto said kindly.  
"No! No! I'm yours! I am!" Neji shouted, terrified.  
"You aren't, Hyuuga." Sasuke spat.  
"Please…Sasuke…" Neji moaned, reaching for him.  
Sasuke stared at him warily for a beat and then moved into Neji's arm, shoulders tight with worry and anger. Neji had no idea what to say and so, for a moment, he just swallowed and tried to find a way to breathe around the sickened knot of his stomach. The heady relief that Sasuke would not simply reject him was so poignant that Neji's lips were shaking and his teeth chattering, his mind spinning, stubbornly rejecting his efforts to think.  
"No one did anything to my energy." Neji managed at last.  
"He's telling the truth, he doesn't know anything," Sasuke said, pulling back a little, eyes moving too quickly.  
"Maybe you just don't remember…" Naruto offered, smiling sadly.  
"No! Nothing like that!" The Hyuuga cried, horrified by the implication.  
"Maybe it could be done, I don't know how…I don't know how someone could change a person's chakra that much without killing them…" Sasuke hissed, looking sickened.  
"I…I would never…!" Neji shook his head, overwhelmed.  
"What would be the point?" Naruto asked Sasuke, ignoring him.  
"To compromise us, to destroy our stability. They would do it to put a pawn in our midst that we can't control, not even with the thrall." Sasuke hissed softly, stroking Neji's cheek gently, his words totally at odds with the touch as usual.  
"I'm no one's pawn!" Neji snarled, eyes tearing.  
"Are you sure?" Naruto asked, gaze shuttered.  
The jinchuuriki gave him no time to reply, but moved to pull the Hyuuga into an embrace instead, his arms welcoming. No matter what, Naruto's body said, Neji was loved. The affection was there, in the touch and the warmth, in the very scent of the jicnhuuriki's skin and Neji suddenly understood what Anko had meant about the vessels loving utterly. Even now, even confronted with a situation that could easily be a clever trap, Naruto would not reject him. Feeling cold with the realization, Neji clung to him, Anko's words ringing eerily in his head. Sasuke moved into Naruto's grip as well, the three of them clasped tightly in one another's arms, trying to find stillness. The jinchuuriki held them silently, held Neji's face tight against his own burning skin as the Hyuuga began to sob and Sasuke trembled. He was not under the thrall and no one was safe. Neji knew now, knew why the raven was shivering, knew the secret frailty of Sasuke's spirit and felt ashamed even if he was helpless to help his beautiful lover. It was the old fear Neji had seen in his eyes, the fear of a small child left all alone, terrified that everyone he loved would be taken away.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke succumbs to a clever temptations and falls prey to the darkness he has secretly been harboring, while Neji surrenders to the pressure from his family. Sai and Naruto give in to the blossoming attraction for one another and as each fall in their own way, the danger grows.

Hanyou are not a separate species, as I have stated before, and so cannot be studied as such. At best the creatures may be understood as an anomaly of the close and violent interaction humans come to have with increasing frequency with demons as we encroach further into the wilderness. Usually the product of rape, such creatures have no place in either human society or the mysterious hierarchy to which demons cleave. They are profoundly alone and their fundamental nature, as it must, reflects this enforced solitude. The behavior of hanyou is shockingly individual, having far more to do with the type of demon lending to its parentage and the circumstances in which it was raised. The problem of a half-demon is considered by many, not entirely inaccurately, as being akin to the dilemma presented by a rabid dog. They are creatures both achingly familiar and terrifyingly unpredictable, close to being human in many ways and yet dangerously foreign in many more.

-Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons

Sakura chose to dress warmly, bundling her ungainly body in thick layers of padded silk and soft cotton, hunting doggedly for her favorite pair of slippers. Part of her wanted to use the clothing to convince the mirror that she was not, in fact, as big as she felt, but the rest was actually just kind of cold. The snow still falling gently outside made her feel chilly, even if the house was warm and the bed even warmer if she wanted to rest for a few more hours. She could, Tsunade even said she was supposed to rest more and it was early, but the weather made her restless. Sai was still fast asleep, curled tight and small in the very center of the massive bed, only a few strands of black hair and the fingers of his right hand visible above the comforter. He was burrowed in the bed, hiding from the world and from his own dreams, and that was probably the only reason the artist was able to sleep so well…that and the fact that Sakura had probably fucked every last neuron the poor man had into an endorphin induced coma. She smirked. A little sleep wouldn't kill him.

When they had been teammates, Sai often liked to lie against her side or drape himself over Naruto's bedroll and nap, but the artist rarely slept so deeply if left by himself. Before she really met him, before they were a team, Sakura had wondered if Sai slept at all. The ink nin always volunteered for the last watch, sketching even when it was probably too dark for him to see, seemingly immune to exhaustion. Knowing him as she did, Sakura now realized that the behavior was probably more likely an odd symptom of anxiety instead of true fortitude, but that did not make it any less powerful. Naruto had collapsed trying to match Sai's endurance, refusing to order rest until he was practically crippled with fatigue, and that was a tremendous feat in and of itself. Despite his easy smile, Naruto wasn't human and he did not lose things like rivalries of stamina easily, but Sai refused to stop. As for herself, Sakura learned quickly that trying to compete with the artist in anything having to do with endurance was a losing battle, that Sai would probably die running on his feet before allowing himself to rest without permission. The kunoichi was proud and she hated as much as anyone to appear weak, but Sakura was pragmatic enough to recognize when someone's will surpassed her own and sensitive enough to be grateful her spirit hadn't been not sharpened the way Sai's was.

There was something darker there, something ugly in Sai's refusal to stop until Naruto dropped to the ground in a panting heap and started whining about his blisters. She had once treated Sai for a tibia fracture that actually stabbed all the way through the flesh of his leg before Naruto smelled the blood and called a halt. The artist would never stop, never, not unless he was told to or his heart ceased beating. Danzo had done things to Sai, things no one should ever be allowed to do to another person, and Sakura knew it was beyond her own ability to understand. There was simply too much darkness, too much evil, so much that she was almost scared to know even though she kept looking anyway. Sasuke thought she was stupid for trying to find empathy for it, for trying to explore something as pervasive as Sai's psychological injuries. He often scoffed at how she struggled to understand a perspective that was so alien, a world view for which she had no basis of comparison. She smiled a little as she thought about the last spiteful diatribe the raven had hurled at her over Sai, hissing and spitting all kinds of cruelty when everyone knew he was just as attached to the artist as everyone else.

Sasuke couldn't see why Sakura wanted to thrust herself into the darkness, why she would ever want to take something as consuming as Sai's past and try to make any kind of analytical sense out of it. He said that the kind of pain Sai had survived was beyond human comprehension and had nothing to do with logic, but Sakura disagreed. Logic meant control, a weapon, a kind of power over the evil that had harmed her loved ones and Sakura would have that power. Sasuke could mock her, but the raven never said what he really meant and he enjoyed the same compassion, the same stubborn attempts to understand, even if he was considerably less grateful for it. They were her men, both of them, and there was nothing in them too shameful or twisted or evil for her to look at. She had always believed that anyone could be saved, healed, and it was an idea she had devoted her life to. Surrounded by killers, people shattered by forces beyond her reckoning, the only thing left to do was struggle and strive and try to comprehend it. She knew Sasuke's cruelty was only another shield, that he loathed anything he thought might be weakness, but it wasn't weakness what she did. No, of that Sakura was absolutely certain. Trying to see through Sai's perspective and facing Sasuke's venom without poison of her own wasn't weakness, it was love, and that was a thousand times more dangerous.

Sakura did not know when it happened or if the feeling had always been there, but she loved Sai as much as she loved Sasuke or Naruto. She loved him so much that thinking about his past made her ache. The artist was part of her family now, or perhaps nothing changed at all and he always was, but even knowing that he was badly broken in ways she could never hope to grasp made no difference. Sakura would do whatever she could to help him be whole again and face the consequences, whatever they might be, as they came. And there would be consequences, of that she was already certain.

The artist had been a breath away from killing her child, something Naruto should probably never find out about for the sake of his own sanity, with only quick thinking and outright pleading stopping him from committing an atrocity that would have torn their family apart. Just the memory of him, body tight and cold around hers like one of Sasuke's cobras, made her heart want to skip a beat and her fingers shake. Sakura could appreciate why the ink nin came so close to such an unspeakable act, why he felt that the murder of an innocent life would be acceptable, collateral damage, but that only terrified her more. Most people, or at least anyone who spoke to him for more than five minutes, had a prevailing tendency to think Sai was insane, but she knew it wasn't the case. There was a kind of rationality, a brutal and animal reason, to the way Sai perceived his world. The whole thing almost made a savage kind of sense, an idea aligned with the fundamental tenets of kill or be killed, but nothing could change what had almost happened. Sai was an enigma, and even knowing the artist as a lover didn't allow Sakura to predict his reactions perfectly, not well enough to stop him in the future.

When Shino brought him to the hospital, Sai had been in pain that he could not ease and so he prepared to die, as any creature would. Sai would never stop running because any who fell behind must, by the laws of nature, be left to die. He had seen her baby as a threat and acted accordingly. All of it was something that only made sense if a person could think about it in the right way and adopt a perspective free from the softness of humanity. Sai just didn't consider the world the way other people did and sometimes his judgment was frighteningly different from her own, totally different from how Naruto thought. To Sai, things were either an active threat or something that he could ignore, either predator or landscape. Since lovers could not fit into either of those categories, he was overwhelmed trying to understand a concept his own pattern of thinking could not permit. She sighed. Naruto had likened the situation to teaching someone a new language, but it was really much worse than that. Showing Sai love was like taking someone blind and giving them eyes, like trying teach a child to walk for the first time, forcing him into a world where none of his defenses worked. Knowing that, Sakura couldn't help worrying about what the artist thought about their lovemaking the night before, if he'd had enough time to think about it at all, anxious that she might have gone too far faster than he was ready.

The girl drummed her fingers against the wood of her dresser, staring at the snow without really seeing it, lost in thought. Both she and Naruto realized that the ink nin required a different, more delicate approach to romance than Sasuke had or Neji likely would. They had talked about it and she knew that the jinchuuriki was both deeply concerned about what might happen when he tried to take Sai under the thrall and already totally invested in his survival. The blond wanted Sai to live and saw it as his own responsibility even more than he had with Sasuke. Her gorgeous murderer had come to their bed knowing he might die, but he had been chasing his own reaper for years. By the time he gave in, even Naruto couldn't deny that there was no saving the raven unless Sasuke found the will to live in the first place. With Sai there was no desperate suicidal motive to fight against, only raw niavete, which was probably worse.

Naruto was right to be afraid, she could not argue the truth of that, especially because the energetic synchrony needed for the thrall required a kind of surrender Sai had been deeply conditioned to refuse. Danzo had taught him that surrender meant death, that to fall behind or yield to an injury meant abandonment, but to be a jinchuuriki's mate meant giving in to a greater force. It meant falling into death without struggle, being overwhelmed, drowning in foreign energy. The artist had done well with sex, better than she had expected, but it was a hard thing to judge and the stakes were so high. Naruto would never forgive himself for Sai's death and life without the artist seemed so impossible now. In matters of life and death, or love for that matter, Sakura knew there was no room for mistakes.

She shook her head, trying to chase the circling thoughts away, and pulled a heavily embroidered uchikake over her winter kimonos. The layers of colored silk were very beautiful in the soft morning light, hiding her well under a filmy facade of red, lavender and pink. Sakura would bury it for now, bury the fear as she buried her own swollen body, cover it up and then no one would know. Action was the key and she had to be strong now, everyone had spent too much time worrying about her already. The weight of the heavy cloth was sure to make her even clumsier than she already was, but the snow outside brought too many memories of another day, a colder day, and there were too many things making her nervous. It had snowed the morning Naruto almost died too, the morning when Madara Uchiha came to take Sasuke away from them. Snow had always seemed like clean, quiet death after that day, no matter how hard she tried to remind herself that weather and murder were not related. Sakura shivered. Clearly, Sasuke's paranoia was infectious.

The young matriarch sat down with an irritated huff and focused on plaiting her hair into a braid neat enough to convince the staff that she hadn't actually spent the previous evening ravishing her one-time teammate in ways that would have shocked even Master Jiraiya. Finally dressed, she poked her head briefly out of the bedroom and into the hall, rolling her eyes when only yawning silence greeted her. All the servants were either still asleep or in another part of the house. Grumbling, Sakura left the room and hunted about. She was uncomfortable leaving Sai alone, but she only needed to be gone for a few minutes, just long enough to find someone who could bring a pot of tea and pass orders to Yuko. Sakura searched the kitchen, finding no one and headed briskly to the washroom, mildly annoyed that no one had thought to prepare something as ubiquitous as tea already. Everyone always drank tea in the morning. If Sasuke had been the first one up this morning, and he usually was, the raven would be raising all kinds of hell at the oversight.

Even just walking about was making her tired and Sakura had to avoid the urge to pant. The kunoichi finally spotted a maid, one that Sasuke had hired, rushing to bring towels to the large bathing room and obviously lost in the wrong hallway. For a moment the servant hesitated before rushing over to where Sakura was trying to lean nonchalantly, hopefully looking bored instead of wracked with fatigue. The girl bowed nervously as she clutched the towels to her chest, eyes glued hard to the floor and mercifully oblivious to the dark scowl Sakura leveled at her. Naruto was right, servants were a pain in the ass.

"Where is Yuko-san?" Sakura asked, keeping her tone level.

"I don't know, my Lady. She was in the kitchen earlier, but then went out for a bit to buy eggs. I haven't seen her for hours…" The maid replied, quivering.

"Don't be scared, just get some pots of tea ready and bring them to my rooms as well as wherever Naruto is." Sakura ordered.

"And…Shall I bring tea for Sasuke-sama and Neji-sama as well?" The girl asked timidly.

"They'll be with Naruto." Sakura replied, smirking.

"Oh." She said, blushing.

"Tell the others to find Yuko –san, I want to know what's kept her." Sakura ordered.

The girl bowed low and scurried off. Sakura shook her head and tried again to catch her breath. She was just so big and it was harder to take a full breath, to inhale fully with the baby pressed against her diaphragm. Walking sucked, but there was no sense being angry about it since the little servant probably had no idea what she was supposed to be doing in the first place. Sakura took another shallow lungful of air and puzzled to herself. Something about the situation seemed more than a little odd. Maybe it was just oxygen deprivation or maybe old Yuko was slipping. Either way, she wanted to know what was going on before Naruto or Sasuke could find out and freak out about it. The woman usually had tea waiting for her by this hour and never seemed to have problems keeping a schedule, but everyone occasionally got held up by one thing or another.

Sakura shrugged and returned to the bedroom. If the she happened to incur Sasuke's wrath, old Yuko had already proven her abilities to handle him as well as anyone. Besides, the raven was always more bark than bite when it came to the servants and Naruto had probably worn him out enough to sleep until noon. Sakura sighed in relief as she entered the bedroom to find Sai still gently unconscious in the bed. The artist moaned and shuddered a little in his sleep as she slid the door closed, but Sakura resisted the urge to wake him from the dream. He was tired, both emotionally and physically, and she knew that the ink nin rarely slept without nightmares.

Sakura had worn him out. That was not her original intention, but Sai was just so…she bit her lip as the heat surged through her again. There was no word to describe how he was. If Sasuke was the moon, ever distant and perfect, and if Naruto was the sun, hot and radiant, Sai was something totally different than either of them. He was just as cosmic, equally essential, but not nearly so obvious…The stars perhaps…something too easily overlooked, subtly luminous and lovely if only one were to pay enough attention. She shut her eyes, the image of him sprawled in a gorgeous heap over Naruto's ochre bedding playing unbidden through her thoughts. The mere memory of how the artist looked the night before, his untouched body pale and willing in her hands, was enough to quicken Sakura's heart and bring a blush to her cheeks. Most people thought that Sai was cold and unfeeling, an automaton, but nothing could be further from the truth. His passion was there, waiting to be kindled and eager for fuel, fuel she knew far too well how to provide.

She had bent him from his training, from the harsh edicts of Danzo's control, and into every conceivable erotic position. He was like a supple willow branch, moving with the winds of her desires, drinking up the sex like a thirsty man would the rain. The ink nin was so soft, delicate and sexually submissive in a way that she had never imagined a man could be. Loving him was nothing like loving Naruto or Sasuke, like nothing she had ever experienced before, fire as smooth and sweet as honey. He followed her leadership easily and without question, achieving positions that Naruto could never have managed and Sasuke was too prudish to try, tying himself into knots around her with only the barest encouragement. She had only to whisper a suggestion and Sai obeyed, opening his body like a lily for the sun at the most meager caress. In this she was almost certainly his teacher, but the artist was a swift learner and a zealous lover nonetheless, pliant and eager for more, always more. The ink nin was not what anyone would describe as dominant, not really, but he certainly wasn't passive either, at least once he had an idea about what to do.

Unlike Sasuke, who usually chose to lie there and pretend indifference until she and Naruto broke his walls down, kissed him senseless and forced him to abandon his pride, Sai was strangely unreserved in his lust. When she kissed him, he bent his mouth against her, moving hungrily. When she mounted him and taught him how to please her, Sai moved into her body eagerly, fully engaged in the sex. His fingers, fingers deft and agile enough to sketch a face in the time it took most people to understand what it was they were looking at in the first place, were equally talented in giving pleasure every way he chose to use them. No matter where he touched her, the contact was like hot oil, like warm coals; stimulating and delightful. The exotic softness of him, of his naturally obedient nature, made her ravenous and the heady desire he expressed so effortlessly made it easy to push him. The sex had been gentle and very patient, but Sakura could not deny that she had plundered him in every way physically possible. They went well beyond her own expectations, beyond safe boundaries, doing things she would have done with Naruto. Sakura pulled a fan from her sleeve to chase the blush. Sai's enthusiasm and naiveté had proven too addictive for his own good. Chuckling softly, the girl wondered how Naruto and Sasuke had done with Neji as she collapsed gratefully into a chair and watched Sai sleep.

Moments passed and her heartbeat gradually began to slow back to normal and she almost felt like she had enough air. Sakura was too heavy, too clumsy, and there would be more before it was over. The baby would not be born for another couple months, if she even delivered on time and that was not a certainty given the extreme energetic abnormalities of the pregnancy. The kunoichi could hardly wait to see her baby, to hold her and protect her, and to have her body back to herself once again. So much had happened that the very idea of actually bringing her daughter into the world seemed so fragile, like a fever dream, a frozen delight that she barely deserved. Any eagerness or dreaming aside, Sakura was just grateful that she had the luxury of hoping for something so far into the future. Sasuke still looked at her with too many shadows in his eyes and Naruto, usually so easy going, had agreed with his significantly more paranoid subordinate that Sakura should not leave the house alone. They were scared, the reaper had come too close, and for once Sakura could not really argue with the restrictions. Even with the careful chakra isolation Neji and Sasuke had done, she still felt exhausted from the normal drain of just being so pregnant and sustaining two life forms. Staying cloistered for a while was a minor imposition. Soon though, soon she would have her prize and everyone would be able to relax again.

It was foolish to set a date, an invitation to frustration, but Sakura was ticking off the days in her head anyway. Sixty days, maybe less, and no one would have to worry about her anymore. She hated being under so much scrutiny, the object of so much concern, when she already felt weak and vulnerable. The constant hovering of four paranoid, emotionally unstable, occasionally homicidal men was eroding her sanity, but there was nothing to do except wait it out. Neji thought she would be late and Sasuke thought she would be early. Naruto didn't care as long as nobody died and who knew what Sai thought about it. Sakura chuckled, her life was too complex.

The bedroom was warm, though, and the gentle tinkling of her wind-chimes soothing as the snow continued to fall in soft white flakes outside. There was nothing to be gained by thinking so much and Ino always chided her for spending life chewing on cognitive bones instead of living. With a sigh, Sakura leaned back and watched the snow, it really was pretty. She was more comfortable and nearly dozing again when a soft knock came to the door.

"My Lady, may I come in?" Yuko's soft voice came through the door.

"Yuko-san?" Sakura asked blearily.

Sai startled awake, moving defensively, practically jerking himself into a low crouch under the blankets, black eyes darting fearfully to the door. He was comfortable in her presence, but the threat of another was enough to pull him instantly from sleep and into what looked like a near panic. Sakura cursed a bit, chastising herself under her breath, and motioning gently to Sai. Yuko knocked again and Sai hissed, the sound of it sharp, like tearing paper, and wholly different from Sasuke or Naruto's version of the noise. Sakura frowned a little, he had never made that sound before in all the years she had known him and it wasn't the first time someone had startled Sai awake. Sakura fretted. She really should have woken him herself before the servants arrived; he was obviously more upset than she had anticipated.

Rising, the girl moved towards Sai, moving slow and whispering a few affectionate reassurances to him. The artist blinked at her once and then again, lips drawn back over his teeth in a half snarl. As soon as his eyes fell upon her face, his expression softened into one of sleepy confusion, even if his posture remained fixed. Sakura shushed him and ran her hands through his silky hair, gratified when he relaxed beneath her touch. He watched her silently for a moment and then yawned.

"Sakura? Are we okay?" He asked softly.

"Of course we are. Everything is fine. You just woke up too suddenly." She said, smiling.

"Oh. I slept." Sai stated, looking muddled.

"You did. How do you feel?" Sakura asked, laughing softly.

"Warm…A little sore." He replied with a smile.

"That's normal, as long as you're okay." Sakura said with a smile of her own.

"Hmmm, I'm fine. I don't mind being sore in this way."

"I'm glad, you had me worried for a second. What was that sound?" Sakura asked, rubbing her thumb over the ridge of his cheek.

"What sound?" Sai asked blearily.

"You were hissing."

"Hissing?"

"Yep."

"Naruto hisses when he's really angry, like a fox with a mouse or maybe a cat. I've always wondered what would be the best way to describe it. He hissed once when I broke my leg, was it like that?" Sai asked, unperturbed.

"No." Sakura said simply, worried.

"Oh. I wish it was. I like it when Naruto hisses. I think I find it arousing." Sai muttered.

"That's really weird." Sakura sighed, "And tells me absolutely nothing."

Sai shrugged, smiling happily and Sakura figured that the conversation was officially over. Sakura sat for another heartbeat, stroking his hair and thinking. The artist sighed and let his body unwind, nuzzling down under the blankets as if nothing had happened. Biting her lip, Sakura called for Yuko to come in. The old woman practically threw herself through the door and onto her knees on the floor.

"My Lady! There has been a murder, I believe there may be problems!" Yuko whispered in a rush, bowing hurriedly.

"A murder? But Sasuke…" Sakura fumbled, blinking.

"Isn't the only killer in the western woods, nor the worst, apparently…" The woman whispered grimly.

"Who was it?"

"Who could be worse?" Sai asked dubiously, cracking an eye.

"Sai!" Sakura snapped.

"They aren't saying, but Hiashi himself is at the scene! I think it might be a Hyuuga operative!" Yuko said, wringing her hands.

"Good." Sai mumbled with another yawn.

"Sai-sama?" Yuko asked, looking confused.

"Operatives die all the time," He shrugged, "And Sasuke hates the Hyuuga spies."

"But… we had nothing to do with that!" Sakura cried, indignant.

"Even so, my Lady, even so! I worry Hiashi will use this against you!" Yuko moaned, clearly upset.

"Don't worry, Yuko-san, I will handle this." Sakura said with a tired sigh.

"Do you think the murderer might come here?" Yuko whispered franticly, eyes large with terror.

"No, Yuko-san, the house is very well protected…" Sakura began.

"…And if he does, Naruto will tear him apart and Sasuke will set fire to the pieces." Sai said with an affectionate smile.

OoOoOoO

Neji lay on his side, watching the snow fall, a single finger tracing the burning porcelain of his teacup around and around. He was tired, mentally and physically tired, but he couldn't sleep even though Naruto's warmth and the calming wintery scent of Sasuke's body lay only a few feet away. They slept, wrapped up in one another the way only lovers could, one of Naruto's hands extended in unconscious invitation for Neji to return. The jinchuuriki loved him, loved him completely, even if he was only a ploy, a tool for Hiashi to use against them. Maybe that was what he had been all along. Neji sighed, aching with the implication of it, if not from any of the love play the night before. Naruto had taken him and Sasuke multiple times and in multiple positions, the Hyuuga knew he should be sore from the penetration if nothing else, but his body was oddly comfortable. He felt strong, very strong, flush with energy even when by all rights Neji knew he would normally have been exhausted. None of it made any sense.

He sighed, grateful the servants had finally brought some tea since sipping it at least gave him something to do with his hands. The snow fell, beautiful against the black branches of Sakura's ornamental maple trees, and Neji looked out into the woods beyond. The forest of Sasuke's home was dark and very deep, shadowy with secrets and loud with the calls of birds and other animals. Out there among the glittering boughs, in the holy sanctity of the Uchiha woodland, one of his kinsmen had died. One of his own cousins had been cut to pieces by the man Neji had made love to only a few hours ago, by the man he had once sworn to kill. There was something twisted about that, something that made Neji feel like a traitor even though he was only here at behest of the Hyuuga clan, ordered to be here as a sacrifice.

The Hyuuga sighed and stared into his tea, watching the leaves settle into meaningless patterns. The ground of the Uzumaki fiefdom was already christened in Hyuuga blood and yet it felt so much like home here, free the way his own family's holdings had never been, comfortable. Neji knew he could leave at any moment, that he wasn't anyone's prisoner the way he had been in Hiashi's household, that Naruto would let him do whatever he needed to in order to be happy…He could get up and walk away into the forest and just keep walking, run away as Anko had once suggested and never come back, but the very thought made him ache so deeply he almost gasped. Neji was so lost in his own thoughts that he almost didn't hear Sakura approach.

The kunoichi was shockingly beautiful as usual, looking like a little snow-goddess in her thick pink and cream silks, leaning heavily on Sai as she toddled forward. She was big with her pregnancy, walking carefully, lithe feet clad in silk damask slippers the same shining pink as her namesake instead of the combat sandals she normally wore. Sakura smiled at him as she came closer, walking on the deck that surrounded most of the mansion with one hand held protectively over her abdomen, her passage protected from the snow by an attractively slanting roof. The girl's hair was neatly braided and she wore red jade earrings so finely carved that he was certain Sasuke had bought them for her as neither she nor Naruto had such exquisite taste. Regardless, the long jewels accented her graceful throat and the soft shape of her jaw. Sai was smiling as well, but not at him. The artist was grinning at Sakura, looking at her with love and something a bit like worship. Neji hoped he would paint her as she was today, looking more lovely than any woman he could ever remember seeing with her pink hair so vibrant against the white of the snow and her cheeks rosy with the cold. Finally she stood beside where he reclined and Sai helped her down to her knees.

"You look too gorgeous lying there with your kimono so loose on your shoulders, Neji. You should be more careful, people might be tempted to harass you." Sakura teased and Neji blushed at the compliment.

"I could say the same to you." Neji replied, running a finger along the edge of her robes.

"Sakura dislikes being harassed." Sai stated blandly, crossing his arms.

"I'd never do anything she dislikes." Neji said, meeting the artist's eyes and noting the challenge there.

"Sai, go cuddle with Naruto." Sakura ordered, pointing towards the open sliding doors and into the bedroom where the blond oni was still gently snoring into Sasuke's hair.

"Cuddle?" Sai asked, confused.

"It means go lie down beside him and relax, let him pet you." Sakura elaborated easily, obviously used to explaining things for Sai. Neji rolled his eyes.

"Oh. I do like being petted." Sai mused.

"Most people do." Neji added sarcastically.

"Even people who insist on hiding in their rooms?" Sai asked tonelessly, the plastic smile stuck like a curse onto his otherwise emotionless face.

"Go on." Sakura urged, throwing a look at Neji.

Sai shrugged and hurried inside, his false expression softening into something like true desire as he gazed at where Naruto and Sasuke still slept. Sakura watched for a moment as the artist kicked off his slippers and wormed his way into the bed and under one of Naruto's arms. Neji felt a small pang of jealousy, but then Sakura smiled and the expression was so beautiful that he immediately felt soothed of the emotion. Jealousy was a useless feeling, especially here, especially knowing that he was the one who didn't belong. The artist might be the most damaged person he knew, but Naruto still loved him without even thinking about it. Naruto would love anyone; not that the jinchuuriki's acceptance was his to judge in the first place. Sai had every right to be close to them, he wasn't the one sent here to be a weapon, to be a traitor…Neji frowned and little and gazed moodily into his tea. Sakura leaned closer and wound a strand of his hair around her fingers.

"Something's on your mind, Hyuuga." Sakura said softly, coiling the tress through her fingers.

"Shouldn't I be an Uzumaki now?" He laughed bitterly.

"I don't know. Do you feel like one?" Sakura laughed playfully.

"I'm not sure I feel like anything."

"You let Naruto see your curse-mark, that must have been difficult." She whispered, unperturbed by his reticence.

Neji startled for a moment, raising his hand to the naked skin of his own forehead, surprised that he had completely forgotten the bandana. Sakura smiled and ran her hand delicately over the mark, fingers tracing the tattoo firmly, claiming the damn thing just as surely as Naruto and Sasuke had the night before. Neji gently caught her hand in his own, rubbing a thumb over the tiny scars on her knuckles, fascinated by how long her nails had grown during the forced inactivity of her pregnancy.

"It was, but I thought it would be worth it." He muttered.

"Was it?"

"Yes…no…I wish I knew." Neji sighed, looking away.

"Was it…bad?" Sakura asked, incredulous.

"No! No, nothing like that, but…the thrall didn't work." Neji confessed.

"That's impossible." Sakura said, her hand stiffening into a fist even as he held it in his own.

"I don't know what to say." Neji whispered.

"Say that you love us." She replied easily, tugging gently on the hair still captured in her fingers to regain his attention.

"I love you." Neji replied without thinking, meeting the emerald clarity of her eyes with sudden trepidation.

"Then nothing else matters." Sakura said, smiling like she truly believed it.

Neji felt for a moment like he might start crying again the way he had in Naruto's arms, the emotion to sharp and too close to the surface, not buried the way he was used to. Sakura never gave him the chance. There was a breath of floral sweetness and the silken warmth of her lips was against his own, her fingers still wrapped in the heavy tresses of his own hair, cupping his jaw confidently. She kissed him, softer than Sasuke and sweeter even than Naruto, female, thrilling, delicate and very tender. Her tongue played along his lower lip, teasing, lively, fearless. Neji sighed and leaned into the embrace.

"Sakura…" He murmured against her mouth.

"I love you." She whispered, smiling around the words, nipping his lips.

"How can you?"

"How can I not? Maybe you make me weak, Neji Hyuuga…" She laughed, a fraction bitterly, as she used his own words against him.

"You only convince everyone that you're weak, woman. I know the truth." Neji replied, letting his scarred forehead rest against her smooth one.

They rested that way for a while, listening to one another breath, and Neji allowed himself the nearly shameful boldness of staring into the emerald depths of her eyes. Sasuke veiled himself with the power of his Sharingan and Naruto's eyes were always open, filled with everything he felt or thought. Sakura was different, even if there was something of each of them in her approach. In a look she could praise or condemn or pity and perhaps even all of it at the same time. Such was her nature, hopelessly complex and enigmatic, if not truly mysterious. Their woman hid nothing, always painfully honest, even if she managed to temper the truth with kindness most of the time. The very intricacy of her very nature kept secrets from them all anyway. Sakura was keeping a secret now, maybe even several, and he could see them swimming in her eyes. Like ice in the normally temperate pools of her shining green eyes, Sakura's secret worries lurked, translucent and subtle and very sharp. Even Naruto could not read her perfectly and of all of them he knew her best.

Sakura stroked her fingers over his face and Neji knew that his words had affected her even if she was too kind to react the way Sasuke had. She smiled and kissed him again, easily, like it was easy…simple. Could anything be so simple? Her eyes were so beautiful now, unclouded by the pain and sickness that used to haunt them, that had tarnished her all the time he had loved her. She was sick before Neji ever came to live with the Uzumaki clan, probably even as she pulled him back from the brink of death, and before he thought she was weak. He had been stupid. The silly commoner girl was strong, strong when everyone else crumbled, and only Naruto had noticed it right away. Maybe it was a subtle kind of strength, but Sakura suffered, more than any of them knew, and she bore it so well that he hadn't even noticed the difference until now. Now, he looked at her and all the shadows were gone. In their place Neji saw the same fire he had the day they sparred and he lost to her, the day she wrenched him to the ground and begged him to yield instead of allowing her break his shoulder. The shame of it was still so poignant, so close in his memory, but the crystalline green of her eyes held nothing except love and laughter and the slightest hint of worry. She always worried about everyone else, about how they would all be able to coexist, foolish woman. He smiled despite himself.

"So Naruto loved you." She said, closing her eyes at last.

"Yes." Neji replied, trembling at the memory.

"Are you alright?"

"I think it was the most incredible thing that's ever happened to me." Neji replied with complete sincerity. Sakura smirked.

"He's good, isn't he?" She asked, like it was a secret.

"Well, his Master was the biggest pervert in the country." Neji shrugged, returning her smirk.

"Now you sound like Sasuke."

"He and I have much in common."

"So I hear." She laughed, sounding weirdly sad.

"Sakura? What is it?"

"Apparently…you guys have more in common than I had hoped. I guess I hope that…well…nevermind. You both come from rich, powerful families, families who follow the rules of clan nobility…" She sighed, gently extricating herself from his hands.

"What's happened?" Neji asked, stiffening immediately.

Sakura bit her lip and looked away, her expression once again that of the uncertain little girl he had met in the ninja academy so many years ago, insecure and overwhelmeded by those around her. It was the same way she had looked so many years ago when they first met, standing in the presence of what she considered to be a prince, awkward and self-conscious. Neji scowled. Something had changed and whatever it was had to do with his family, with Hiashi or with clan politics that Sakura barely understood. The very thought sent shivers through his spine.

"Suki Hyuuga was murdered last night." Sakura whispered at last, brushing a strand of pink hair from her face.

"Sasuke was here with us the entire time…" Neji began.

"It wasn't Sasuke, I think everyone knows that…It's just…well… I can't keep ignoring Hiashi's demands to speak with you." Sakura said, looking away.

"What?"

"He's been asking to have you visit the Hyuuga compound, formally asking, for weeks. It's just that, with everything that's happened…I just thought you needed a little time to recover…" Sakura explained guiltily, green eyes apologetic and very tense.

"Suki's dead?" Neji asked, too shocked to fully understand what she was saying.

"Yes. I'm sorry, I don't really know much about it…" Sakura said, squeezing his hand.

"I…I just…When?" Neji fumbled, feeling cold.

"Last night, in the woods. She died near the entrance to the Uchiha compound, probably just coincidence that it happened so close to our borders, but I'm worried about what Hiashi will think." Sakura whispered, staring with a kind of frustrated intensity towards where the others dozed.

"You're frightened about what he would do to your family." Neji said bitterly.

"Yes. I am. Could he…could he take you from us?" She asked softly, breath billowing smoky and white into the chilly air.

"No. He wouldn't do that." Neji sighed, slightly ashamed that he had ever even worried that she was more concerned for the others, Sakura didn't think about things that way.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Neji. Were you close?" Sakura asked gently.

"No, nothing like that, it's just that she was Uncle's favorite operative. I never would have suspected anyone could take her down so easily…" Neji whispered, shaking his head.

"I haven't been to the scene. Sasuke would have a fit the second I set one foot off the estate, but…my servants say that nothing about her death looked easy. I just have no idea what kind of impact this will have on us." Sakura said, biting her lip.

Neji nodded. He understood her frustration. Sakura was far out of her league with something like this, unsure what the appropriate protocol would be and unable to leave the compound for fear that doing so would compromise her own safety. Her health was too fragile, not to mention the effect leaving like that would have on Sasuke's sanity…Neji cringed. Allowing Sakura to deal with the Hyuugas was not an option. Normally, the head of household would have been the one to deal with any clan politics or intrigue that arose, but Naruto was totally clueless and Sasuke unflinchingly vicious. Either one of them was perfectly capable of starting a war, whether through ignorance or pure savagery. The only one who had a chance to make any kind of headway in this situation was him, even if it was Neji's own clan on the other side of the table. Sakura was helpless to face Hiashi as she was and there was nothing that they could do without more information anyway. Neji felt a sudden rush of ice at the thought of facing his uncle.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to." Sakura said grimly, pressing his hand.

"I can't very well refuse him." Neji sighed.

"Yes you can. He doesn't control you." Sakura hissed, suddenly fierce.

"Little vixen, would you protect me? Protect me from everything?" Neji laughed bitterly.

"You don't think I can?" Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Maybe you'll let me save you for a change?" Neji teased, kissing her nose.

Sakura blushed fetchingly, the tender curve of her petal pink lips drawn up in amusement that didn't quite reach her eyes. Neji wondered what she must think of Hiashi after what happened in the stadium, after he was brought to them as a marriage offering too drugged to be coherent, all of it must have seemed very strange. Sakura rarely spoke of it, preferring to keep her opinions private on both his and Sasuke's families, Neji only knew about how she had saved him from talking to Hinata and Naruto. Someone had already died in the conflict slowly brewing between the two houses and while he was an almost laughably friendly person, Naruto would never allow something like an outright threat to go unanswered. What would Hiashi want? What if Sasuke was right and all he was in this was another pawn? Neji swallowed and tried to ignore the way his stomach was trying to tie itself into a series of knots.

"I'll go." Neji said quietly.

"I'll allow it, only if you promise to come back." Sakura teased, smiling affectionately.

"Don't worry." Neji laughed, smiling to soothe her even if the very thought terrified him.

"Please…Please don't let anything happen…" Sakura began, her façade falling a bit, the terror seeping through in her eyes and the trembling of her lips.

"Don't worry…" Neji whispered again, kissing her forehead.

OoOoOoO

Hiashi looked towards the carnage of what had once been his favorite assassin, her death coming too quickly upon the heels of Kiba's little announcement for his liking. Her blood was still red and garish against the white of the forest floor, having frozen almost instantly, and the body was half buried in both snow and ash. There was almost nothing left that had been spared, but the unusual auburn shade of Suki's hair had been enough to identify the body. The head of the Hyuuga household still had nin out in the woods searching for all of the pieces, some of which had almost certainly been plundered by wild animals. He sighed. The corpse had been left too long. Hiashi would have liked very much to at least do Suki the respect of recovering all her remains so that she could have a proper funeral but, like anything else, there was only so much he could do.

Whoever had killed Suki was unbelievably skilled and also trying to make some kind of statement, most likely that the Uzumaki clan had powerful allies, but that was only another reason for the blond terror to be dealt with. Perhaps her death had been unexpected, but Suki was not the first of the last casualty of this war and soon all of Konoha would realize that demons were unwelcome. Hiashi clenched his fists. What an atrocious inconvenience, having to fight a war without her, his best, by his side!

He had trained Suki since she was a child, grooming her towards the goal of ultimate perfection and she had excelled nearly as much as Neji. True, she lacked his nephew's unshakeable motivation and chilly disposition, but her agility and ruthlessness was unmatched. The beast had taken something important from him, and he would pay dearly for the loss, but Naruto had only compromised himself by acting prematurely. That was, of course, assuming that Suki had died under the jinchuuriki's orders at all. The boy was probably too naïve for something like this, but it hardly mattered. The murder would only accelerate his plans.

Hiashi sighed as he cupped the frozen wreckage of Suki's hand in his own, her nails still painted pink even if several fingers were missing. She had suffered, as was her duty, but it was ugly to see. The old man closed his eyes. The girl was a prodigy, a beautiful and finely honed weapon, one that had been carelessly shattered before her time. Thankfully, like all tools, Suki was replaceable and her death would not be in vane. The murder was the catalyst he needed to circumvent Sakura's meddling. Soon Neji would return, as he must, and the yellow haired atrocity would die as his father before him. Even as a jinchuuriki with powerful friends, even carrying Kushina's power in his veins, Naruto was still only a commoner born of common blood and destined for only common things.

"Yes, my Suki," He whispered, "Even in this you serve me. With your death you have given me my war."

OoOoOoO

"I'd like to say again that this is an incredibly stupid idea." Sasuke snapped, looking positively venomous in his black and orange livery, like one of the poisonous snakes in the western deserts.

Despite his temper, the raven was still very beautiful, very sexy, and Sai was more than happy to just look at him even if the rest of Konoha tried desperately to shuffle out of their path. People actually tripped over themselves to get out of Sasuke's way, pointing and shooting terrified glances towards them from every window and every store front. Sai waved in what he hoped was a friendly manner. Naruto would be very upset if they managed to scare someone into having an accident or something equally unfortunate. The good villagers of Konoha ignored him and continued scurrying left and right out of their way. Sai didn't blame them. Sasuke was a predator and a powerful one and it was the first time he'd been let off of Naruto's leash in years.

"He's been asking for me." Neji muttered, looking moody and nettled as usual.

"What are you? His dog?" Sasuke sneered, crossing his arms.

"He's my uncle. I can't just ignore him!" Neji growled.

"You could. You're very good at ignoring people." Sai noted.

"Fuck you, Sai." Neji spat.

The vendor selling oranges a few houses away abandoned his stand in favor of outright fleeing, tipping oranges everywhere in his hurry. The rest of the villagers who were trying to make a swift, but slightly less hysterical, retreat suddenly ended up tripping on the spilled fruits. Soon people were falling everywhere, splattered with orange juice and speckled with mud from the melting snow, the soggy ground making the market square slippery even without the help of terrified citrus peddlers. Sai almost wanted to pull out his sketchbook and draw the spectacle, which was getting louder and muddier by the second, but he didn't want to risk being left behind or getting dirty. Sakura was very firm that they should look presentable and Sasuke's pace left very little room for deviation from their set course in any case. Naruto said there was no reason to hurry, but forcing the raven to wait would only make him more furious and it would be very bad if he and Neji decided to fight. They had both been in a foul mood since leaving home and Sai noticed that it only seemed to get worse the further they got from the Uchiha compound, the further they got from Sakura.

"Clumsy idiots! Now it'll take even longer to get there!" Sasuke groused, bunching his fists in poorly concealed frustration.

"Stop shouting, Sasuke." Neji hissed.

"I'll shout if I feel like it, Hyuuga!" Sasuke snarled.

"We could always run along the rooftops." Sai suggested, waving again.

"Will you stop that! You're only making things worse by being weird!" Sasuke snapped.

"That might make all this worse." Neji sighed, gesturing angrily to the general chaos erupting around them, "They're panicked as it is."

"They should be panicked…" The once-uchiha spat.

"Sasuke…" Neji groaned, looking at the sky.

"Shut your mouth and keep walking Hyuuga!" Sasuke ordered, wading through the mob as if propelled by a motor.

Neji sighed again and followed after him, looking equally annoyed even if he chose to be less vocal about that the feeling. Sasuke's shouting really hadn't made anything better and Sai didn't think it would be long before ANBU had to show up just to control the mob, not to mention the fact that the market would likely be damaged. Going places with Naruto was never this troublesome, but Naruto was not a mass murderer so he supposed it was to be expected. Neji scowled ferociously at a particularly clumsy civilian who had managed to trip not once, but twice, nearly running into them and spraying his bundle of straw everywhere. The man tried to apologize while running away and only succeeded in smashing into an already rickety looking tent. The whole structure collapsed, taking the two adjacent sake stands with it and sending people screaming everywhere. Sai's eyes widened. If Sasuke's presence had upset them, seeing Neji in such a foul mood drove the crowd into something nearing an all-out riot.

"This is ridiculous." Neji snarled, sounding fully angry.

"The village seems very lively today." Sai said, as way of pleasant conversation.

"Morons. All of them." Sasuke huffed, steering them away from the wreckage.

"You know it's your fault everyone is reacting like this. Maybe if you tried being civil people would calm down." Neji sniped.

"Doubtful." Sai said, looking to where a small troupe of Nara guards where shoving each other in their hurry to get into the library.

"I'd be happy to civilly kick your ass." Sasuke hissed under his breath.

Neji rolled his eyes and matched his pace to Sasuke's so that they were walking in unison, the long braid Sakura had woven swinging against the middle of the Hyuuga's back in counterpoint to the irritation in his steps. The pair of them achieved synchrony easily, really without even trying, even if Sasuke was still ostensibly leading them through the square. There was something queer about that, but Sai wasn't sure what it was so he focused on waving instead now that Sasuke was turned away from him. The whole thing almost felt like a parade to the artist, like how it was when they returned home from subjugating Sound, only better because he was a part of Naruto's family instead of just his team. Though that parade had been significantly less hysterical, Sai reflected.

"Move! Now!" Sasuke snarled at a cluster of civilians who'd become stuck behind a noodle wagon.

"I wish he'd just calm down a little, this isn't making anything better." Neji whispered to Sai as they walked behind the darksome avatar of malevolence that was also Sasuke Uzumaki.

"He doesn't like leaving Sakura." Sai explained quietly, "I think being away from her makes him grumpy…"

"Fucking morons! Just go around the damn thing!" Sasuke roared.

"Whatever gave you that impression?" Neji asked, raising an eyebrow sarcastically, watching Sasuke snap his fingers at the terrified villagers as they scurried to do his bidding.

"Well, he always hates to leave her alone. He says so." Sai explained, Neji's irony passing like vapor over his head.

"I don't really like it either." Neji acceded, setting a hand on Sai shoulder to guide him around the wagon.

Sai bristled a bit at the touch, but allowed it. They were in the same family after all and if Sasuke had accepted Neji then he would have to try too or Sakura would definitely be upset and Naruto would be forced to say something awkward. The ink nin let his shoulders relax a fraction and Neji did not rush to remove his hand. Sai had the distinct desire to break the other nin's fingers, but focused instead on the colorful obscenities issuing from Sasuke's mouth as they walked.

"Sakura is a person that it is uncomfortable to be away from." Sai said at last, hoping Neji would stop touching him.

"Yeah, I guess. I can't explain it, but I've been really feeling nervous ever since leaving this morning. Maybe it's just because I haven't been sleeping very well." Neji replied, looking away and finally taking back his hand.

"Sasuke feels nervous any time he's away from Sakura and he doesn't sleep much either. It's hormonal or something." Sai said shrugging.

"Hormonal?"

"Naruto thinks it's something like that, he's not really sure. Apparently Kyuubi said something that makes him think so." Sai explained, a bit coldly.

"Like he's on his period of something?" Neji sniped sourly, glaring at Sasuke's back.

"Sasuke is male…" Sai pointed out.

"Thank you. I'd noticed."

"…And if he is experiencing some kind of hormonal imbalance, it's safe to assume you are as well." Sai continued.

"You think I'm cranky?" Neji asked.

"I'm not sure I could say what's wrong with you." Sai replied and continued following Sasuke.

"From you, I'm just going to take that as an observation that I'm not in the best mood." Neji sighed imperiously.

"Yes." Sai agreed, smiling.

The Hyuuga resumed his scowling, hands thrust into his sleeves, and they finally cleared the main part of the market. Sai had to admit that even if Neji wasn't his favorite person, the brunette did look rather impressive in the dramatic orange and black of the formal Uzumaki kimonos. The bright colors accentuated the shining mahogany of Neji's hair and the preternatural silver of his eyes, making the taciturn genius look even more severe than he usually did and also more deadly. The masks they all wore over the lower halves of their faces only accentuated the effect, probably contributing to the response of the villagers too, but Naruto had insisted. The jinchuuriki was very weird about how they dressed, outright refusing to allow Sai to go in his usual midriff fighting gear, which the blond had apparently thrown away. The artist didn't think it was particularly nice to throw out people's clothing without asking, but since he had new clothes anyway it didn't really matter much, though Sasuke said he should be mad about it.

Sai did not see the advantage in being angry about something that he was clearly not angry about, even if Naruto had said that his old clothes were "slutty", which made the artist wonder if he had been thinking that way the entire time. He supposed that an exposed midriff was unusual for most nin, but armored jackets were difficult to replace and Danzo only preferred to by clothing for his soldiers once. As long as Naruto still kissed and cuddled him and put him under the thrall, Sai didn't really care what he wore, but Sasuke thought the whole thing was offensive on principle. They had argued about it for nearly an hour. Sakura said it was the raven's way of holding onto his pride, but it seemed silly. Sasuke complained loudly any time the jinchuuriki dictated their clothing and today was no different even if he was already dressed before the raven started heckling Naruto about it. The whole thing was largely counterproductive in Sai's estimation, which no one asked about, so he kept his thoughts to himself. Neji hadn't said anything either and Sai's only opinion on that mask specifically was that it kept his nose warm.

Nothing about the clothing was uncomfortable or ugly and Sai had not idea why anyone would refuse to wear it, in fact he felt very…showy. Sakura had given him some of the silver bracers decorated with the Uzumaki whirl and it was the first thing that Sai could ever remember owning that was just supposed to be beautiful for its own sake. She had woven some of her own silver clips with the Uzumaki whirl symbol into Neji's braid since he didn't have any bracers and the ornaments glinted in the afternoon sun like sparks from a fire, eye catching and spectacular amidst the snow. Sai was excited as usual to wear the clothing of their clan, even with the mask, and happy that he now had kimonos tailored specifically for him as well as the one he had stolen from Sasuke. The borrowed treasure was still resting in a cherished bundle beneath his futon and he had no intention of giving it back, but it was still nice to have clothes of his own. He was also glad that Sakura had the foresight to give him a nice set of padded under-robes to wear beneath the livery, the air was still chilly and he would have been cold in his usual, scant clothes.

Sai wondered when he had started noticing the cold. Normally the weather barely fazed him, only becoming a problem when his body was in danger of serious injury, but lately he had been feeling more sensitive to things like temperature. The warmth of Naruto's body had been so delicious earlier that morning, warm like a furnace beneath the blankets, and the heat of Sakura's mouth even more so. He shivered. Danzo would have said that they were making him weaker, teaching him to feel so much, but perhaps the change was not so much a matter of weakness…Perhaps it was merely a product of attention instead. Sai studied the idea as Neji and Sasuke bickered beside him, wondering if his awakening senses were actually ones he had learned to ignore in favor of survival. Root was not a good place to feel things. Feeling things there would have hurt, but maybe it would have been better than nothing, better than the yawning darkness. No way to be sure.

It also felt good to be out in Konoha with the others, walking together for all to see, even if they were only going to visit Neji's uncle whom Sakura had pithily described as "Konoha's biggest and most important asshole". Naruto said he wanted them together to visit the Hyuuga compound, able to support one another just in case anything happened, which was the way that the blond liked to talk about the possibility of Sasuke losing his temper and killing someone. Sai knew very little about the Hyuuga clan other than that Sasuke disliked them and Neji was supposed to be some kind of peace offering to prevent a clan war with them. As peace offerings went, Sai thought they might have chosen one a little less secretive or violent, like a fruits basket or perhaps some nice paper. Regardless, Naruto needed them to do this while he stayed home to protect Sakura and Sai was fully prepared to deal with anything that might arise. It was a mission, nothing else. He would protect Sasuke and he would protect Neji and he would bring them all home alive even if he had to raise the Hyuuga compound the ground.

In the meantime, he enjoyed the walk and tried to remember how Sasuke and Neji looked so he could draw a portrait of them in their Uzumaki finery later. He hadn't drawn Neji yet and it might be interesting. Even if Neji was an unwelcome intrusion and a possible threat, not to mention generally unpleasant, he saved Sakura's life and he did have very appealing hair. Sai liked the way it cast shadows against his almond cream skin and framed his face, the harmony of color and form attractive if not particularly striking. The brunette was not as pretty as Sasuke or as nicely textured as Naruto, but he had very elegant bones and Sai thought he might be able to draw him with an appreciation for the architecture alone, much like a rendering a building. The hardness of his features and the luxurious softness of his hair would be difficult to render accurately without one feature overwhelming the other, challenging, but also very unique.

Sai captured the end of Neji's braid as he mused, brushing his fingers through the shining weight of the hair. It was such a complicated color, dark and radiant at the same time, warm with shining honey undertones. The Hyuuga turned back towards him and raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as the ink nin played with his hair. Sasuke was still cursing under his breath even though there weren't any more people blocking his way and the sound of it was familiar and soothing. The Hyuuga slowed his steps so that Sai could hold the braid without pulling and the artist felt a small surge of appreciation for the gesture. He smiled at Neji, the expression effortless and natural, feeling warmed when the brunette smiled back. The Hyuuga really was much prettier when he smiled. There was something intentional, something constructed, about Neji's features that probably had to do with directed breeding and it was very graceful.

Sai hadn't been told much about the breeding programs employed by the higher clans except that people were often stuck marrying their cousins or siblings and that tended to produce offspring with mental illness, if nice cheekbones. Naruto said that it really explained kind of a lot and Sai assumed he was referring to Sasuke's crazy brother, Itachi, but wondered if the comment might include Sasuke too. Sakura often said that the raven wasn't completely stable, but that it was okay because Naruto was. Sai was very glad that Naruto was stable because he didn't want Sasuke to have to be crazy. Being insane was both painful and very lonely and he hadn't enjoyed the experience at all. No one had said anything about Neji being mentally ill, but Sai felt that it was a strong possibility given his background and general propensity for being a jerk. The artist also felt that if Naruto could anchor Sasuke then he might be able to save Neji too and that the brunette deserved that chance as long as it was being offered. Naruto was special, he could save anyone. The artist smiled at the thought and pressed a kiss to the end of Neji's braid. The Hyuuga colored an amazing shade of red and coughed into his hand.

"What in the fuck are you two doing?" Sasuke asked, turning back towards them to glare with annoyance.

"I'm not completely sure." Neji replied lamely.

Sai just smiled at him, feeling something hot and fluttery in his chest when Sasuke made his "tching" noise and smiled at them with his eyes before turning back to the road. Maybe he could do Neji's portrait in sepia; that would capture most of the colors. Most, except for Neji's eyes, he'd have to add some kind of metallic paint to get the silver gleam of the genius's eyes right and then it would just look creepy. Neji was sort of a creepy person, though, and maybe it would work. The balance of the piece would make up for the contrast in color and the effect might actually be very striking. Balance was, after all, everything.

OoOoOoO

The Hyuuga compound loomed before them like a frowning sentinel from a time long past and better left forgotten. Neji felt his throat go dry as the gigantic steel and ironwood gates were pulled open to grant them access, the chilly silence of the perfectly manicured gardens heavy and unnatural in the snow laden air. To his left, Neji felt Sai creep a little closer and felt grateful for the artist's presence even if he was bound to say something awkward and probably get them all killed. Sasuke sneered at the gates like they had offended him in some visceral and essential way, like he wanted to burn them down which knowing the darksome murderer, he probably did. Neji put a hand on the raven's shoulder and simultaneously tried to remind himself that the man he had come to love so much, the man he had skeot with, thought nothing of chopping people up into tiny pieces and sending them home in boxes. Sasuke had killed people, killed his own kinsmen only a few months ago, and it felt wrong to love him so much. Neji felt twisted inside, his loyalty torn in conflicting directions, and the spartan simplicity of the Hyuuga compound only seemed to mock his inner turmoil with its silent grace. To think, he had once found the elegant emptiness to be relaxing.

Sasuke let out a long breath which misted into the freezing air like an omen and marched inside, the glowing red of his Sharingan firmly in place over the hardened ebony of his irises like armor. He was watching, watching beyond the capabilities of human eyesight, searching for the slightest whisper of danger anywhere in the Hyuuga clan holdings. The raven was probably the one person left alive and not a Hyuuga who could see that way, who could appreciate the subtle art of buildings specifically designed to capture and magnify chakra, but Sasuke's sneer remained firmly on his face. Neji sighed. He desperately wanted to finish with the errand and go home, back to the sunny warmth of Naruto's bed and the fiery orange everything. This house was supposed to be his sanctuary and yet it felt so foreign after the warmth and openness of Naruto's family, so cold and uncomfortable. Neji swallowed hard and followed Sasuke, catching a hint of movement out of the corner of her eye. He activated the Byukuugan, but relaxed instantly as he recognized the energy of the person as his cousin, even if she wasn't alone. He smiled. Sasuke tensed a bit, but then relaxed as he recognized Hinata running towards them, panting hard in her hurry.

"Neji! You're here!" She shouted excitedly and a flight of winter doves rose from the garden in fright.

"Hina!" He called waving.

The frightened cooing of the doves, still flapping about in feather pandemonium, made Neji grin. The stupid birds were probably just supposed to be ornamental. It was nice to have a little bit of natural noise in this garden where everything else was so eerily silent, muffled even more by the snow still falling lazily around them. He had forgotten how quiet the main house could be and it was jarring after the boisterous racket of Naruto's household. Sai's eyes flickered nervously, but his posture remained calm as Hinata barreled towards them grinning excitedly. Sasuke glanced beyond her to where the Hyuuga common soldiers were performing exercises, but kept his expression relatively neutral as well.

The girl stopped just in front of them, bowing deeply to Sasuke before hurling herself into her cousin's arms. Neji laughed as he lifted her and the brooding spell of the Hyuuga compound's silence seemed broken. Hinata kissed him roughly on the cheek, sleek black hair blowing around her face and getting stuck in his mouth. His cousin's cheeks were flushed with the cold and she looked happier than he ever remembered seeing her, the kind of happiness too pervasive to hide for the sake of manners. It was warming. They hugged again and Neji hoisted her onto his shoulder as he had when she was a child, laughing at the raucous shriek the girl gave at the sudden movement.

"Neji! You're okay! I was so worried!" Hinata said, clutching awkwardly at his head for support.

"Silly. You should know better." Neji chastised her with a huff, trying to avoid being poked in the eye.

"But…are you alright there? Not being able to be in ANBU anymore must be hard and there are…other things…" Hinata said shyly, gripping his bandana.

"It's fine. I like it." Neji whispered.

"He likes it too much." Sasuke sniped, rolling his eyes.

"I'm glad. I wanted you to be happy." She said softly.

"You're pregnant." Neji said, smiling up at her. Hinata blushed and hid her eyes.

"Yes." She whispered, "I knew you'd be able to tell."

"It's pretty obvious. Are you feeling well?" He asked.

"Oh…Oh yes, fine."

"Really?" He pushed.

"Yes, I am, it's just…I'm so relieved! Kiba and I have been trying for months and I was really starting to get worried, thinking that something might be wrong." Hinata said, peeking between her fingers.

"Sounds stressful." Sai said blankly.

"Very." Sasuke agreed, giving Hinata a knowing look.

"Um..yes, very." She agreed shyly.

"How's Kiba?"

"Oh, wonderful! We're both wonderful! I still feel so terrible about hurting you though, I hope you were able to heal well…"

"Don't be stupid. It wasn't that bad." Neji scoffed.

"But Sakura said that you nearly died and that you'll probably have pain from it forever." Sai argued.

Sasuke elbowed him sharply in the guts, making the artist cough, but it was already too late. Neji sighed, glaring at the ink nin and feeling annoyed that the topic had come up in the first place, so much for keeping secrets, even useless ones.

"Oh…" Hinata said sounding miserable.

"It's nothing Hina, less than nothing. Sakura said that, but I haven't been hurting much at all. Whatever she did made it heal beautifully, I barely even have a scar!" Neji said cheerfully.

"I just…with everything…and I thought I'd never see you again…" She whispered, slapping his cheek gently.

"I told you not to be dumb! Everything is fine. We're just here to visit Uncle is all." Neji said, yanking a strand of her long hair where it trailed by his face.

Hinata quieted at that, but made no move to escape his shoulder as they were guided forward into the estate by a pair of guards. Sai looked around nervously, obviously checking for threats, his face a perfectly emotionless mask once again. Neji didn't blame him, even if it hurt to see the fragile smile gone so swiftly and replaced with icy nothing. Sasuke glared ferociously at the common soldiers once again, and allowed himself to be led into the maze of buildings warily. Neji bit his lip. As far as they were concerned, this was enemy territory and even with Hinata there the tension in the guards was unnerving and palpable.

The walked towards the main audience hall, saying absolutely nothing, and Neji felt Hinata gently squeeze his fingers where they rested against her knee to hold her onto his shoulder. As they walked, more soldiers joined the procession and he could tell that they were making Sai nervous even if the artist showed nothing of it in his face. Sasuke, however, had begun to look bored, which was probably even more dangerous. He wanted to pretend that this was only a casual visit to chat with his cousins, but Neji knew better: it was a war council, a last and desperate effort to solve their problems diplomatically before resorting to bloodshed. It was narrow on the path between the buildings and Neji had no idea why they were being led by this route instead of the main path through the bonsai garden, but said nothing. They couldn't be planning to attack Sasuke, no way Hiashi would be that stupid, not to mention that an attempted ambush would be suicide…

"Hime-sama, you should not be held that way in your condition." A rather unpleasant voice said from behind them, Neji paused.

"I'm fine!" Hinata hissed.

"Come down." The voice, which Neji recognized as Bunta, ordered.

He groaned. Bunta was one of the oldest warriors of the branch house and as such had been tasked with enforcing the stringent rules of the family, especially those concerning the protection of the royals. He had been the bane of anything loud or fun or friendly since they were children. The Hyuuga guards were probably trying to keep Hinata in isolation, ostensibly as a form of protection during her pregnancy, but it was only just another show of power. With the next generation of Hyuuga royals on its way, however, Hiashi had to know that his days of such abuses were numbered.

"I'm not your prisoner, Bunta!" Hinata snapped.

"I am your guardian. You may think of it however you wish. Come down and return to your rooms with me at once." The old veteran ordered softly.

"The Lady said no." Sai said blandly, hand toying gently with his kunai.

"Sai stop it! It's not your place!" Sasuke hissed.

"Hime-sama, look at the trouble you are causing…" Bunta whispered accusingly.

Hinata crumpled at that and Neji felt a sharp spike of anger to see her treated that way, even though it was no different than how they had always treated her, how they treated everyone. Sighing softly, the girl extended her hand and Neji took the cue to set her gently onto her feet, hugging her once more in consolation. The girl looked at him, silver eyes hollow and very worried. Still, there was fire in her expression too, smoldering fire that was patient enough to wait. Neji smiled.

"Go with him for now, Hina. It won't always be this way." Neji whispered and she smirked.

"You've found yourself again, cousin." Hinata replied, laying a hand on her own belly. Neji looked again with the Byukuugan, startled to see two fires kindled there instead of one.

"Twins!" He smiled, "Just like my father and Uncle."

"No! Not like that! Never!" Hinata hissed, silver eyes flashing, and Neji was taken aback.

"But…if there are two then only one can be born first…" Neji said, genuinely confused.

"Yes, but it won't matter. I will give birth to my babies alone and no one will know which was born first. I will not allow one to serve and one to rule as Uncle and Father did. None of my children will be slaves." She whispered, lips drawn back from her teeth aggressively.

"Everyone is someone's slave." Sasuke huffed.

"That is the way it is, Hina." Neji said sadly, stroking her hair, "You cannot change fate."

"And when they are born, everything will be different." She whispered fiercely.

"Change takes time."

"And time has passed, Neji. I have waited patiently. I am ready." She smiled and for the first time Neji glimpsed the fierceness she had shown in the arena in the triumphant curve of her lips.

"You knew…you were planning all along…" He breathed, eyes widening.

"I admire your ambition, matriarch." Sasuke whispered and bowed deeply to her. Hinata tipped her head in deference for the gesture and they shared a look, one filled with anticipation and no small portion of muffled violence.

"I am a prisoner for now, Uchiha-sama, but I won't be forever. I would ask a favor from you." Hinata said.

"Ask." Sasuke murmured, the red of his eyes blazing.

"Please remember that I am a friend of clan Uzumaki. Please remember that I consider Naruto an ally." Hinata whispered.

"Hime-sama, we should go." Bunta snapped.

"I will remember and I will remind my alpha as well." Sasuke said and his tone was that of a person taking an oath.

"Hime-sama…"

"Be safe, cousin. Guard your honor." Hinata said and turned away from them, forcing Bunta to follow her instead of the other way around.

"I'm confused." Sai said, cocking his head.

"I'll explain it to you later." Sasuke whispered, watching her go with a small smirk, "Naruto was right about her."

"Naruto is right about many things." Sai added self-importantly.

"But most of the time he's an idiot." Neji laughed.

"True." Sasuke huffed, rolling his eyes

The continued walking and Neji thought about Hinata and her coup de etat, a bold move made even bolder by that fact that her plans were obviously no secret to the rest of the family. Apparently she and Kiba had enough popularity, enough sway, to move forward without worrying about conservative opposition from people like Bunta or anyone else for that matter. Kiba was an outsider and Neji would have never thought that he would have been so easily accepted, certainly not to the degree that Hinata suggested by her behavior. More guards streamed in around them and soon Neji was walking several feet behind Sasuke and Sai, becoming more separated with every additional person added to the procession. He grimaced. There was something intentional about that, but before he could call out to Sasuke, a hand was pressed over his mouth and the Hyuuga was dragged with a jerk into one of the buildings they were passing. Neji only had enough time to see a perfect copy of himself fall into the line, before he was pulled completely into the room and the door shut silently.

"Welcome, nephew." Hiashi's voice said from behind him and Neji turned to see his uncle seated comfortably at a low table on the other side of the room.

"Uncle…" Neji breathed warily, moving to kneel low before him.

"You look well, nephew…despite your new duties." Hiashi commented, appraising Neji in a way that made him feel almost naked.

"I was instructed to please…" Neji whispered, blushing hotly.

"No doubt you do, but we have little time for pleasantries. Two of our family have already died and I needed to speak with you privately. I need the information you have gathered for me." Hiashi ordered coldly.

OoOoOoO

"We are being led in a circle." Sai whispered to Sasuke.

"I know." The raven replied, feeling the cold edge of danger rippled over his skin.

"Why?" Sai asked.

"I'm not sure. To delay us for some reason. They're plotting something." Sasuke replied quietly, glancing at the guards around them.

"They've forced Neji to the back." Sai noted.

"All of it may just be a fucking scare tactic." Sasuke hissed, studying the bland energy of the Hyuuga common soldiers.

The exercises he had observed earlier were not simply standard training protocols. The Hyuuga warriors were practicing jutsu specifically meant to confound another visual ability, most likely his own, as well as techniques that he had never seen before. Sasuke could not be sure, but the movements seemed to rely heavily upon synchrony, one of the ways his own master had described to effectively assault a jinchuuriki. Unfortunately for them, it was also one of the strategies he had taught Naruto how to defend against. Sasuke smirked.

"I am not afraid." Sai said, his tone even colder than usual.

"But they are." Sasuke sneered nastily.

OoOoOoO

"I have little useful information, Uncle, I'm sorry. There is barely anything to report at this time." Neji said, bowing low before his Uncle in apology.

"This was never an easy assignment, but you will report what you have found out." Hiashi said.

"I have been kept strictly in confinement for most of the time I have been with them…" Neji hedged.

"What have you seen with the Byukuugan?" Hiashi pushed, scowling in disapproval.

"Not much, nothing of strategic value…"

"Neji, I will decide the merit of what you have learned. We must prepare as best we can for the creature's attack." Hiashi said coldly.

"He has no intention to attack anyone…" Neji whispered.

"And yet your cousin is lying cut into pieces in the snow." Hiashi snapped.

"It wasn't them!"

"Who is their ally?" Hiashi asked.

"Sensei, I don't know…"

"The report what you do know! Now!" Hiashi snapped. Neji flinched at his tone.

"Naruto only cares about Sakura and her child. He has been utterly focused on her, especially since she had been unwell…" Neji whispered, feeling cornered.

"You expect me to believe he cares only for the welfare of his female? He is massing subordinates!" Hiashi hissed.

"Sai was added at her behest…"

"Then he is even weaker than I thought." Hiashi mused darkly and Neji felt his mouth run dry.

"No Uncle, it isn't that. She is important." Neji hissed.

"How so?"

"He loves her…" Neji offered miserably.

"Peh, the fool." Hiashi smiled, drumming his fingers, "Perhaps his affection really is a weakness the way my operatives thought…"

"No! It's not!" Neji cried, Anko's words ringing like sirens in his head. Jinchuuriki love completely or hate completely, there is nothing in between…

"Does he love you with the same mindless devotion?" Hiashi asked, his expression savage and curious in a way that made Neji's blood run cold.

"No! It's isn't just love! That's not all of it!" Neji backpedaled frantically.

"No?"

"Without her Naruto and the others physically cannot survive, her energy is tied with Naruto's too tightly, he can no longer harmonize his chakra without her. She is strong, they all are." Neji whispered, feeling a sense of dread settle into his belly the moment he spoke.

"And she has been ill?"

"Passingly." Neji said, his heart hammering in his chest.

He had to give Hiashi something or his uncle might believe that Uzumaki was weak enough to attack and the information surely wasn't important, but..it still felt like a betrayal. He was helpless again, just as he was as a child, damned no matter what he said. He felt off balance, unsure what to do. People had died. Hiashi needed to be convinced that Naruto only wanted peace, but Neji had no idea how to accomplish such a thing when his uncle was already so suspicious.

"Have they forged alliances with the other clans?"

"Naruto has many friends." Neji hedged.

"That isn't what I asked."

"I'm not sure about formal alliances. I have not been informed of their political connections, but Naruto is held with great regard by Inuzuka and by Gaara in the kingdom of Sand."

"That is common knowledge. Has he forged a treaty with Sand?" Hiashi asked.

"I'm not sure…"

"What do you know?" Hiashi growled impatiently.

"They have no intention to make war. Sasuke has become increasingly paranoid as the months pass, some kind of reaction to Sakura's pregnancy, and he has absolutely no interest in anything beyond keep her safe and the borders secure. He is obsessed with the security of their fortress. Naruto has been overwhelmed by Sakura's health problems and he has withdrawn from his usual activities in Konoha, he certainly isn't planning something as complicated as a coup. Suki's murder was a surprise to them as well." Neji reported mechanically, trying to remain as vague as possible.

"What is the state of their defenses?"

"Impenetrable. Naruto has tied the wards to his own consciousness and is instantly aware when anything crosses the border and Sasuke changes the orientation of the sentinels frequently without telling anyone. They are well protected, but have made no preparations towards an assault." Neji said.

"The wards are all tied to his psyche?" Hiashi asked, raising an eyebrow, "How is that even possible?"

"His energy is limitless, like nothing I've ever seen…" Neji replied, hoping the vastness of Naruto's strength would deter Hiashi.

"Apparently not. Not if Sakura's health affects him."

"It affects the harmony of his chakra, not the amount. He is synchronized with his subordinates as well." Neji replied, hoping he was not revealing anything important.

"Have you been put under the thrall?" Hiashi asked.

"Yes." Neji lied, "He compels me."

"It is to be expected. Has he taken the other as well?" Hiashi asked, looking worried.

"No." Neji replied, hoping that the fact that Sai still remained unclaimed would soothe his uncle's paranoia.

"You will tell me when he does. We must be ready to deal with whatever subordinates he acquires." Hiashi ordered.

"I…I can't…I am not free to…"

"Do not fear his reprimand, nephew. We will not allow him to hurt you and the addition of another subordinate will represent an even greater threat to us if it occurs without our knowledge!" Hiashi pushed.

"Sai isn't a threat, I promise…"

"I know that this will be difficult, but it is only a single piece of information, one that will become common knowledge as soon as the artist is claimed. I just want to know in advance so our own defenses can be reinforced." Hiashi explained, interrupting him.

"The situation is stable. There is no need…"

"Suki is dead!" Hiashi roared and Neji flinched again.

"Her murder was unrelated. Clan Uzumaki is not a threat at this time." Neji argued softly.

"That is not for you to decide. If you want peace then you must give us what we need to remain safe. Uzumaki obviously has forces at his disposal that we are not aware of, that you are not aware of…" Hiashi murmured, looking away.

"H…Hai…perhaps…" Neji whispered, studying his hands where he knelt upon the tatami.

"You knew the nature of this mission. We must be able to protect ourselves."

"I know, Uncle, but…If they think I've done something to compromise them…"

"You fear the Uchiha's wrath." Hiashi sighed, nodding sadly, "I don't blame you."

"It's not that! Sasuke is deeply paranoid and if he believes I've done something…My mission will fail." Neji said firmly, trying to still the quivering terror in his guts.

"I see and I understand your dilemma, but without intelligence we will have no choice but to probe his holdings ourselves once again…"

"No! You can't! Sasuke will kill them!" Neji cried.

"It will be an acceptable loss. It is what they were trained for and it's true, we cannot compromise your position." Hiashi said with a sigh, rubbing his temple.

"No Uncle! Please! It isn't necessary! If you send another team they'll all be killed!"

"Then we will send more."

"No! Please! They'll die and you won't gain anything!" Neji pleaded.

"Can you get the information out or not? That is the only alternative, Neji. We cannot go on without knowing!" Hiashi hissed, pinning Neji sharply with his eyes.

"I…"

"Can you do it or not? Tell me the truth." Hiashi ordered.

"Hai. I can." Neji said softly, bowing and praying that he was doing the right thing. If he didn't, too many others would die.

"You're sure?"

"Hai, sensei." Neji responded formally, touching his forehead to the floor.

"You will send the message via a summons that I will prepare for you, it will be dormant until you choose to activate it. If another of our kinsmen die it will mean war, Neji," Hiashi said gently, "Don't fail me."

Chapter 20: Chapter 20  
The male jinchuuriki is most vulnerable following the claiming of a subordinate, unlike the female whose body is weakest during the end stages of pregnancy and birth of offspring. This is an obvious and easily exploited flaw, but the male's physiology has adapted accordingly to provide protection to him, I indirectly. The alpha grows temporarily weaker, but those under his thrall are granted tremendous power. The heat, an optimal time for mating, also represents a period of vastly increased, if unwieldy, energy generated by the jinchuuriki as a response to the reproductive needs imparted by the demonic aspect of its nature. Many demons similarly demonstrate periods of heightened sensitivity and energetic instability associated with their reproductive cycles, males and females alike, but the case of the jinchuuriki is unique. A heat for full demons represents a time of tremendous energy expenditure without the subsequent gain, but the bonding achieved with mates is only a transient event and the energy expended in a given mating season is inconsequential. The vessels, by contrast, bond their mates for life and amass the reserves of chakra necessary for such a proposition. Jinchuuriki are, indeed, substantially weaker after a claiming, but their subordinates enjoy unparalleled power following the act. The phenomenon, not surprisingly, has even been confused with the gift of immortality by more primitive cultures, and indeed a subordinate newly claimed is amazingly difficult to kill. Again, this is no supernatural blessing, but merely a reflection of the wisdom of nature. The vast energy bestowed upon a subordinate following consummation represents a natural protective mechanism designed to both facilitate healing after the trauma of chakra transfer and allow the subordinate, now fully compelled by the thrall, to protect his alpha.

-Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons

Sai turned in Naruto's embrace, nuzzling his face beneath the jinchuuriki's chin demandingly, enjoying the radiant heat of the blond's skin. Naruto responded slowly, playing his lips affectionately over the tingling flesh of Sai's ear and ignoring the soft huff of frustration that the artist released into the angle of his throat. Being touched by Sakura was succulent, sweet with the promise of easy love and gentle acceptance, but there was something even more thrilling about the jinchuuriki's embrace and it was something that probably had a lot to do with sharp teeth and the inhuman stillness of his eyes. Sai was at least observant enough to recognize that sex with Naruto was a temptation partially because it was dangerous, because it meant completely losing control, but he was so tired of control.

He wanted to feel the way Sasuke did when the gorgeous murderer screamed and wept and fell apart in Naruto's ready arms. He wanted to experience the emotion that moved through Neji when he threw his head back against Naruto's shoulder and begged in fevered whispers for the indomitable blond to take him, harder, deeper, more. The way the others were with the kitsune made Sai wonder if living could be like painting; if he could lose himself in Naruto's hands without sketching them, if the power that he felt in the ink was only a shadow of what was really possible. The ecstatic madness of being a subordinate might have scared him once, but now seeing the spectacle only filled him with desire. Fear was a useless emotion in Naruto's bed, at least in Sai's opinion, though he was beginning to understand why some people were afraid of death. He might be afraid too if it meant never feeling like that again, if it meant going back to the aching nothing, the chilly emptiness he had suffered before. The very thought sent a shiver down his spine and Naruto squeezed him a bit tighter, intuitive as always to his mood even if Sai did not understand it himself.

The lanterns hung throughout Sakura's garden had all been lit on one of the girl's whims earlier that evening and the soft light glittered off the snow to cast the bedroom in flickering illumination almost like sunlight on water. All the doors had been opened to let the chilly air in against their fevered skin and the crisp breeze felt wonderful even if Sai was certain leaving the doors open in such weather was decidedly inefficient. Sakura had wanted to watch the snow fall while they made love and no one would deny her. Once he would have argued about something so obviously counterproductive, heating a room just to cool it again, but then again Sai had never known something like cold or snow to be delightful. The effect of the refracted glow and accompanying shadows against the nude bodies writhing against the silk was nothing less than inspiring, though Sai knew it would be a hard image to ever capture completely. Even in oil, he would never be able to make Sasuke look so smooth or find the right hue for Sakura's delicate blush and the constant flickering of the light against them was moving too quickly to render easily.

For once, Sai found that he did not care. The way that they looked, the way the shimmering glow caught in the soft spikes of Naruto's golden hair, would be something that he would never forget. His memory was enough and the sketchpad lay forgotten somewhere on the floor underneath Neji's kimonos and Sakura's slippers. The artist brushed his fingers against Naruto's shoulder and noticed that he did not feel the almost frantic urge to draw the way he had when making love to Sakura, that his hands were comfortable in their emptiness and it was enough just to touch. He smiled. The light was warm, forgiving and diffuse, glowing in indulgent splendor over the lovers and bathing Sai's own knuckles in vanilla illumination that somehow managed to smooth all the scars.

Sasuke groaned as Neji slowly pushed inside him, face buried in the nape of Sakura's neck and hands fluttering nervously against her heaving breasts. The girl moaned as well, rocking back against the black haired killer as much as she was able in her veritable cradle of pillows, the movement sending a spark of heat racing through Sai's blood. She was uncomfortable with the weight of the pregnancy and had to be positioned carefully just to sleep, much less to have sex, but the girl did not seem unhappy about it. Sakura liked making love, especially with the baby so close, and on nights like these she was insatiable. Increased libido was normal in pregnancy, Sasuke told him so, but there was still something almost miraculous about being with her now. She took him and Naruto together, coaxing them with the irresistible rhythm of her own desire until Sai thought the feeling might actually ignite the marrow in his quivering bones, but she still wanted more.

Naruto could probably make love to her forever, even with his heat mercifully past, but her passion seemed to have infected them all. She was hungry and so they all were, she wanted to twine and twist and become one, so they would. The winter nights passed in the glowing haze of their love, the dead season made warm and beautiful with pleasure and anticipation. Sai thought the phenomenon was almost like Naruto's heat, except weirdly in reverse. The jinchuuriki's lust had been consuming and dangerous, a weapon only Sasuke was reasonably capable to wield, but Sakura's was fulfilling and ecstatic. She filled them and made them all drunk on joy like one could be on wine. To love Naruto during his heat, when he maintained so little control of his own energy, was to risk destruction, but being with Sakura felt like nothing less than pure salvation. Being swept up in her desire was like being healed, like being pulled from freezing water into the warmth of the sun. She was creation in elegant counterpart to Naruto's destruction and no less powerful. Maybe this was what Danzo had been so afraid of, Sai mused, the inexorable force of male and female united. He could see why.

The artist watched Sakura with Sasuke and Neji, watched as she danced with them, viewing the love play from the succulent warmth and unshakeable security of Naruto's arms. The sex was devastatingly beautiful to him and it shouldn't be since it was only flesh, bodies moving together, but Sai couldn't tear his eyes away. The lovely contrast of Sasuke's pale hand against Sakura's blushing skin, the muscular surge of their hips, the sticky way Neji's hair clung to her cheek was so striking… She was kissing Neji's fingertips in a way that made Sai ache and holding Sasuke's hair like she might never let him go, face flushed with pleasure and lustrous hair draped over her shoulder like a sparkling, pink waterfall. Neji thrust into Sasuke, his breath catching on his teeth, eyes closed with ecstasy and sepia lashes brushing his cheeks in trembling shadows. The Hyuuga moved confidently and the others followed his rhythm, but it was not like watching Naruto make love to them. There was none of the perfect synchrony or easy dominance and Neji's body was tossed against the others as much as he drove them. Still, they were obviously enjoying it together and it was lovely.

Sakura held her breath and shuddered against them in a pattern of movement Sai recognized as orgasm. The ink nin worried a little about the woman's body since she had gotten so large and the experience looked so intense, but he said nothing. Naruto had told him that this was important, that she needed to stretch for when the baby came, but the artist hadn't quite gotten used to the idea of everyone loving her this way when she was still so delicate. Sensing his trepidation as he sensed everything else, the jinchuuriki turned them so that Sai's belly was pressed into the cool sheets and Naruto was sprawled over his back like a giant, purring blanket. Sai felt his muscles relax and his intimate body stiffen as the blond lathed scorching kisses across the vulnerable skin of his neck, pausing to hold the nape delicately in his sharp teeth. Sai trembled in the keen embrace, viscerally aware of the brush of those fangs over the ridge of his spine. Naruto liked to kiss and nibble on areas of the human body where someone could be easily killed, focusing on the vulnerable places, touching in a way that made Sai feel exposed and oddly acquiescent. The jinchuuriki touched him, loved him, until his body seemed to respond of its own accord and his entire focus was directed to the feeling. The jagged edges of the old sharp thing shifted closer to the surface with those commanding caresses, rising in his awareness along with the pleasure, but the artist didn't care anymore.

There was release in the Naruto's love, a kind of freedom he had never even known could exist without the finality of death and it was something he wanted more than anything. Sai could not be afraid of the decrepit, frozen secret hiding in his mind when that liberty was so close. The Naruto's kisses made him reckless and his grasp made him desperate in a way that the artist had only ever felt when deprived of water on long marches through the desert. In many ways Naruto was like the desert, golden and scorching, consuming everything around him so completely that it was both easy and dangerous to become lost in him. Sai raised his hips up against the velvety ridge of Naruto's penis, feeling a surge of heat when the jinchuuriki instinctively ground down against his buttocks. He knew now, because of how Sakura had loved him, that Naruto could easily be inside him in this position and the knowledge made the molten spring of emotion tightening in his gut tighten a bit further. Sai arched his back, moaning, as Naruto's hand moved down his side to rest against his hip like a hot coal kicked loose from a fire.

The powerful kitsune was stirred, that much was obvious, but Sai knew that it would take much more than this for Naruto to be compelled to enter his body the way Sakura had. Naruto was still worried that Sai would die that way, extinguished in the surge of the thrall like a moth in the heat of a flame, but it was beginning to physically ache not being connected to them. The hurt of it was almost like the pain of being in love and alone, but sharper, more tempered with fear. It felt like watching the others run on ahead, barely within Sai's vision and slipping further every moment, knowing that he was falling behind and that no one was coming back. They were not safe yet, even if being with Sakura made them all feel that way, and Sai knew there was still a chance everyone might die if something went wrong when she gave birth. He wanted to be taken now, kept in Naruto's heart the same way he was in Sakura's, kept close so that he would never be left behind again. He was ready, he felt ready, hungry for Naruto's touch as he had never been before. Neji vehemently argued against any claiming until after the baby was born, but the jinchuuriki had claimed him and so the Hyuuga could never know what it felt like to be excluded this way!

Sai arched his back, pressing up into Naruto, biting his lip against the needy whimper that threatened to escape him. For a few precious moments they were moving against one another, almost as if practicing the rhythm of lovemaking, so close…but then Naruto was snaking his hand beneath Sai's body to caress his stiffened shaft from below. The artist clenched his teeth in frustration. He already knew what would happen; that Naruto would stroke him to completion, drink away the evidence like he always did, and mount Neji or Sasuke to find his own release. He wanted him, more than he wanted air, and yet Neji had said wait, so of course everyone did. The Hyuuga was pretty in his own way, but his attributes did not make him any less of a nuisance and Sai was almost as tired of waiting as he was of control.

Sai tried to hold back, but his foolish body followed the friction of the blond's palm and soon he was approaching the edge, helpless to do anything to stop it. The feeling was too addictive and Sai was too inexperienced. Sasuke could hold back and sometimes even manipulate the love play to make it last longer, he had seen him do it, but the artist simply did not have the skill or confidence and so Naruto always controlled the pace and direction of the pleasure. The artist moaned, shivering between the warm hardness of Naruto's chest above him and the clever resistance of his hand still wrapped around his sex. The jinchuuriki was making that noise, a sound like thunder, but warm and comfortable instead of alarming. It was a sound Sai liked very much, maybe too much, and he felt his belly contract obediently in response to the unspoken suggestion. The rumbling vibrated through Naruto's chest and out, tingling against his ribs and through his jaw, thrumming deep into his bones until Sai could feel himself coming closer to the edge from the sensation of the sound alone. It felt good, so good, but not anything like being filled…like being claimed.

"I want…your fingers…" Sai panted, digging his hands painfully into the sheets, quaking delicately as Naruto gathered the pre-cum already beading at the head of his straining erection and smoothed it over the shaft.

"Fingers?" Naruto purred, voice close and hot against his ear.

"I…Inside…" The artist managed before another cresting surge of pleasure broke over him.

"Hmmm…I suppose, but you've only done that with Sakura." Naruto argued softly, sounding concerned.

Sai practically sobbed with frustration, wishing Naruto would give him a moment, a breath to find the words. As it was, the blond continued to stroke him as he considered the request, making Sai's toes curl as the overwhelmed artist fought to still his hips, to avoid thrusting on instinct into Naruto's scalding hand. Sai's teeth chattered as he felt his body tighten in preparation for release, knowing that at least Naruto was thinking about it, that he might do it if given enough opportunity. Being touched there by Sakura had been frightening; open in a way his body was still unsure how to facilitate without drifting dangerously into panic, but it had also been the most intensely satisfying experience of Sai's empty life. Fingers were nice and Naruto's were the best of all even with the claws, so it would probably be even better than before.

"I want your fingers…" Sai said again, his voice trembling only a little.

"Okay." Naruto whispered and the word seemed to blaze a path of molten hot whiteness through Sai's fevered thoughts.

The jinchuuriki rose up onto his knees, hunting about for the small jar of almond oil Neji had used to enter Sasuke a few minutes before. The heady fragrance filled Sai's senses, even stronger than when Neji had used it, nearly pungent enough to drink in along with the air. A deep ripple of quivering emotion moved through his spine to rest in a heavy hotness somewhere in his pelvis. The scent of almonds was quickly becoming robustly linked to sex in both his mind and in the instinctual reactions of his flesh, probably to the point of classical conditioning. Sai felt his skin warm and the muscles of his lower back relax as the fragrance washed over his senses, heavy and sensual with promise, numbing his logic. The scent alone was a kind of preparation for penetration and Sai wondered if Naruto intended it that way or if the whole experience was entirely coincidental. Regardless, it was shockingly effective. The artist found himself panting and sweating rivulets, staring down at his own hands with a rapt kind of fascination, and trying to call back his shattered thoughts before Naruto touched him and sent them tumbling again. There was so much emotion, and all from something as simple as a scent. Sai was not sure what would happen if he ever tried to eat almond nuts again, but hoped that whatever it was didn't happen in public.

Sai blinked his eyes, willing his body to relax. Close enough to touch, Sakura's lovemaking with Sasuke and Neji was reaching a slow crescendo, building the way a storm might, vast and effortless. The beautiful girl clenched her muscles and climaxed again in Sasuke's arms just as Neji raised his eyes to where Naruto was pulling Sai's hips up and against his own, gently guiding the ink nin's body into the same position that Sakura had used to enter him before. Neji scowled and Sai willed him to remain silent, to let it happen, but of course the Hyuuga had to take every opportunity to interfere and insist on more waiting for reasons he wasn't willing to make clear to anyone else.

"Be careful, Naruto." Neji whispered, silver eyes glinting in the twilight of snow and Sakura's lanterns.

"I will be." The jinchuuriki breathed, mouthing scalding kisses against the base of Sai's spine.

The Hyuuga stilled, watching them with an expression that Sai could not hope to interpret and would not have wanted to try anyway. How anyone could make a face like that with the most tactilely sensitive part of their body buried in Sasuke Uchiha's beautiful ass, Sai would never know, but he was relatively certain that the answer involved some kind of mental illness. Sakura would say that people who lived in glass house shouldn't throw stones, but Sai had never understood the proverb to begin with so expending effort feeling chided by it was worthless. Besides, he had far more important things to think about, and Naruto hadn't actually stopped what he was doing, so there was no purpose in attempting to solve the mystery of Neji Hyuuga for the time being. Sai relaxed a little more and let a pleased sigh escape his lips as the jinchuuriki's wise mouth nibbled along the edge of his hip, stimulating the delicate skin and raising the flesh into goose bumps despite the heat.

Neji's mouth tensed into an unappealing line at the sound and the effect that reminded Sai of a trip wire pulled too taut, which was probably not what the expression was supposed to convey. The artist found himself wishing that the brunette would get over whatever it was he fixated on and smile again; Neji really was very tempting when he smiled. When he smiled the Hyuuga looked nice, like well-polished hardwood, if such a thing had the capability to occasionally become peevish and completely ruin its own aesthetic through sheer moodiness. Sasuke turned over his shoulder to glare at Neji, hissing in protest when the morose Hyuuga remained still.

"Neji! Move dammit!" Sasuke snarled, biting him viciously on the forearm.

"Sasuke!" Sakura chided fiercely, frowning at him as the small injury began to bleed.

"Teme, be gentle." Naruto rumbled, smoothing a bit of the oil over Sai's lower back, the scent of the almonds cloying and delicious in the air.

"I just don't want anything dangerous to happen." Neji whispered, nuzzling Sasuke tolerantly despite the biting.

"Love is dangerous, sweetheart, but I'm not really sure why you're so worried about this in the first place…" Sakura said gently, stroking Neji's knuckles.

"I just think…" The Hyuuga began stubbornly.

"Now's not the time for thinking." Sakura purred.

"And Naruto knows what he's doing, so move or I'll be the one fucking you instead!" Sasuke snapped, annoyed and moving swiftly towards fully irate.

The strange expression melted from Neji's features almost instantly, leaving only the edge of something chilly and furtive in his eyes and then that was gone too as if the look had never even been there. Sai narrowed his eyes. Something was off, though he was not sure what it was. Perhaps the problem was that whatever was wrong only added another layer of tension to the Hyuuga's normal rigidity and so the change was too subtle. Neji moved his lips back to Sasuke's neck, kissing the porcelain flesh apologetically, and began rocking them again with the same slow rhythm he had been using before. Sai wondered what the significance of such an exchange might be, but he did not have the luxury of pondering the problem for long. Naruto was kneading the trembling muscles of his lower back, moving more roughly than Sakura had, but also with considerably more finesse. Sensuous heat crept from the jinchuuriki's powerful palms into his muscles and higher, moving through his back and hips in luxurious waves, making him arch like a cat into the caress.

Naruto let the almond oil drip, warm from his hands, into the dips of Sai's lower back. He spread the artist's buttocks so that the lubricant could run with gravity over the tender skin of Sai's anus and below to drip ticklishly from his testicles. The ink nin gasped, licking his lips nervously as Naruto followed the oil with the pad of his finger, stroking the hidden skin in a slow circle. The jinchuuriki did not hesitate the way Sakura had and moved without allowing Sai to first become accustomed to the sensation of simple contact against his intimate body. Instead his alpha blended the touch with motion, stroking him both behind and below, trapping Sai's pelvis between his hands. The feeling was unnerving, the pleasure clashing dissonantly with trepidation, familiar contact mixed with something new and far more forceful. The visceral reaction of being open, exposed and wholly vulnerable in the blond's practiced hands intensified, bordering on fear even with the way Naruto was still stroking his erection. Sai swallowed hard, trying to remain calm. If he started to panic now the way he had with Sakura at first, the kitsune would probably stop immediately and any hope he had of going further with him would end. Sai did not want it to end, not when he knew it would feel so good.

True, the love play was different, not nearly as slow or patient as Sakura's version, but Naruto's hands and voice and lips kept moving and the delicious sensation only intensified. Sai could not focus on any kind of uncomfortable emotion for long; he was too easily distracted by the blond's fingers against his skin and the soft words whispered into his ear. Despite the complexity of it, the artist still felt everything. The coolness of Naruto's claw, the edges of his callouses, even the pattern of his fingerprint felt etched into his tactile consciousness like a daimyo's seal into hot wax on a scroll. Focus itself, on anything, was rapidly becoming more difficult with the thundering pleasure Naruto was kindling in his blood.

The warm desire, the tingling love in his chest that always lent a little heat to his body, was rapidly igniting into a raging inferno that threatened to burn away his sanity. Too much, far too much, just as Sakura said it would be…Sai slowed his breathing, allowing the intimacy of the contact to move through his awareness unchallenged, like a wave through a placid lake. He shivered, bowing his face lower against the bedding in reflexive acceptance of Naruto's dominance, letting it happen. The jinchuuriki moaned and Sai was not sure if it was his posture that excited him or the feel of his body or something else entirely. The kitsune was rubbing him, the friction intense and almost abrasive against the delicate, sensitive flesh. Perhaps the touch was even painful, there was an element of rawness to the sensation, but it was so utterly softened and smoothed with the oil Sai could not be sure.

Pleasure, pain, fear and lust all seemed to meld in Naruto's embrace, until everything except for the heat of his hands and the pinch of his teeth faded from Sai's fevered awareness like shadows from the light of dawn. His body responded of its own accord, his hips moving in gentle counterpoint to the intimate massage, chasing the ecstasy. He moaned, moving with Naruto mindlessly and compelled by him as intractably as the ocean is by the whims of the moon. The simple truth of the kitsune's influence made it different, more intense and also more frightening. This was the difference between making love with him instead of Sakura or anyone else, the difference between sex and acceptance, the power that scared all of them including Naruto himself. Sai thought that the thrall was surely already present in the way Naruto's touch and voice and mere presence could make him feel, the easy way that he seemed to command Sai's very flesh to open this way. He was exposed now, in a manner he had never imagined he could be, and something so insane should feel bad. Being peeled open like a bud in the sun should feel like being flayed or eviscerated, like damage, but instead the only emotion in Sai's body was a kind of manic joy.

For an eternity the kitsune rubbed, slowly moving deeper, until the sensation grew into almost a molten kind of ache that trapped Sai's entire body into the rhythm of Naruto's lovemaking. He moaned, moving with the tempo of the touch, feeling wanton and also desperately overwhelmed as his testicles tightened in preparation for release. Naruto braced his hand against the curve of the artist's buttock with intention and Sai had no time to prepare before the man's finger was inside him, sliding easily into the throbbing tightness of his most intimate body. The fullness bordered on pain, his muscles twitching in reflexive spasm against the intrusion, and the cry was torn from his throat before his mind could close his lips to stop it.

"It's okay baby, it's okay…Relax, it's just me." Naruto whispered, kissing his ear.

"You…you're in me…" Sai gasped.

"Yeah," Naruto purred, "You feel so good."

Sai swallowed at that and shut his eyes, trying to relax, to control his panicked flesh. There really was no need. Naruto moved deeper with a confidence and sensuality that Sai knew was unique to his personality, stroking as he went. The jinchuuriki gave him no time to think or worry, cupping his testicles in the warmth of his palm as he pressed in, stroking slowly through the thin skin to the mysterious structures inside. The feeling was so pleasurable, so instinctively gratifying, that Sai's body melted for him without any effort at all. Naruto chuckled.

"You're so good, so easy…I love you so much." Naruto whispered and Sai felt dizzy with the words.

"Ea…Easy?" Sai asked.

"Yeah, I touch you and you just respond, your body reacts so effortlessly. Whatever I do, you just go with it. It's incredible…" Naruto breathed appreciatively.

"Ahhh! That…that doesn't sound difficult…" Sai panted, crying out again as Naruto thrust his finger deeper, raising a chilly film of cold sweat over his trembling skin as the ache of penetration increased.

"It is." The jinchuuriki replied softly, his voice tight and breathy with desire.

Sai was beginning to notice the pain, his inexperienced body stretching for Naruto and sore with the invasion as the blond moved deeper, sinking in past his second knuckle. There was still pleasure, just as intense as before, but now Sai was as full with him as he had been with Sakura and beginning to feel the rising tension in more than just his body. The secret was close, jagged and frozen and moving with the rhythm of Naruto's hand, rising in his consciousness along with the strange stimulation of his entrance. The artist felt delicate this way, vulnerable with his ass full of Naruto's pushing finger and oddly ungainly, as if any movement he made might touch something too deep and too internal.

Naruto hummed a little under his breath, working his strong hand in a patiently widening circle, massaging the tender tissue and encouraging it to stretch. It was hard, far more invasive than Sakura had been, but also more intensely pleasurable too. Sai winced a little and then shouted in shock as the jinchuuriki found the sensitive place within, pressing against his prostate without hesitation and sending white hot geysers of scalding delight ricocheting through Sai's belly and higher, sizzling up his spine to burn like the after-image of lightning in his brain. He shrieked, bucking back against Naruto in animal reflex, the aching fullness dimmed by the arching joy flooding through his nerves with every targeted press of the jinchuuriki's fingers. He had been too overcome to completely notice when Naruto added the second digit, but it was there now, feeling very big inside of him and still pressing eagerly against the sensitive organ hidden within.

"Oh, yeah…so gorgeous…" Naruto gasped as he pumped Sai with his hand, "So tight inside…"

He knew that he should say something, but the words only came out as raw sound, untempered by will or consciousness. Naruto moved into him ever deeper and he was bursting, but the feeling was just as erotic as it had been before. Sai's eyes were open, but his mind refused to make any kind of sense of what he was seeing. He blinked and realized that Sakura had moved closer and that she was staring into his eyes, the temperate green of her irises warm and a little aggressive, watching him come to the edge. Sai drew a ragged breath and it felt more like a sob, the air catching hard in his chest and sticking, but it was alright because Sakura's hands were in his hair and he was safe. Naruto pushed once more, touching him inside, and his belly clenched hard in ecstatic release. The artist came forcefully enough to steal the very sound from his cry, pumping semen into the warm basin of the jinchuuriki's outstretched palm.

"Neji…" Naruto hissed, his voice rough, coming through gritted teeth.

Sai wanted to cry out, to tell him to stay, to stay inside, but Neji was already moving obediently to bow low on his elbows beside them. Naruto pulled his fingers away with a wet sound and Sai was left feeling both open and empty, the experience unfinished. Neji opened his body wantonly and Naruto embraced him with a hungry little groan that made Sai's blood boil, but whether the feeling was lust or anger he wasn't sure. The Hyuuga stayed close and glanced at him, his hooded silver gaze almost apologetic as Naruto began to move inside him. Sai was not sure he would have had the strength to watch if it had not been for Neji and the intensity of his expression, the way he locked eyes with him, trying to share some kind of emotion. Sai knew from experience that being loved by Naruto was consuming, but the man did not close censor his face or turn away. They were sharing this somehow, even if Sai had no idea what it meant or why something as simple as staring into Neji's eyes could hurt so much. He felt like screaming, but did not have the breath to try. It wasn't fair, it wasn't right, he was ready, every nerve felt ready and open and…Sai tried to move, but only succeeded in collapsing against the deliciously chilly silk and Sakura's lustrous hair.

His body sang with it, the last tremulous notes of a symphony unfinished still ringing through his flesh, lovely and torturous too. Sai reached out and felt Naruto take his hand and squeeze lovingly even as he moved further into Neji's ready entrance, but it wasn't enough, not by far. Neji moaned and trembled as he yielded to the jinchuuriki's movements and the hurt grew worse, eating like a hot blade through Sai's awareness. Naruto was saying something that sounded like it might be an explanation, but the artist could not bring himself to care. Sai only gripped his hand sobbed, wishing he could find some way to tell them, to tell Neji, to make them understand what he was feeling. Sakura was saying soothing things and Sasuke moved to lie against his left shoulder and all of them together should have been enough. It wasn't. Sai choked back a soft whimper and Sasuke kissed him, pressing his palm over the artist's eyes so that he wouldn't have to see it, so that he would not have to watch as Naruto spent his passion in Neji's body instead of his own.

OoOoOoO

The mission was a failure. He had failed everyone, utterly, and there was nothing left he could do to stop it. The situation was fast spinning out of his control, hurtling away from his influence like a meteor towards gravity, plummeting closer to some unknown doom he could not yet foresee to prevent. Once he would have been comforted with the knowledge of Hiashi's intentions, with faith that his leader knew what he was doing, but he couldn't remain ignorant of the fact that the Hyuuga clan head was following a more dangerous agenda than he pretended. People had died and Hiashi was willing to sacrifice even more, more of his own kinsmen, and all for the sake of information that seemed, at least at face value, totally worthless. There were things Neji didn't know, things that he was too afraid to ask and now his last attempt at compromise was not going to work either. Hiashi had badgered him, demanded results, and Neji had never been able to act insubordinate with him the way Hinata was. He was a soldier and Hiashi his leader, it wasn't his place to argue. Maybe his ridiculous little cousin really was the stronger after all and maybe she would have been able to say the things he could not, but he had been conditioned that way. Neji was taught from infancy to obey main house authority without question and now, when faced with it, he buckled despite his intentions.

If there were ever a time for questions, it would be now, but asking those same questions might get him thrown from Naruto's household forever or murdered by his uncle for the sake of expediency or nothing at all. He had no way to know without understanding the stakes, without being privy to what Hiashi hoped to gain from this intrigue, if it was even intrigue at all. Maybe the whole thing was simply garden variety paranoia, as he had first assumed, but Neji knew that possibility was growing less viable by the second. Tactical sacrifices were not so easily made for the sake of suspicion alone, not by Hiashi anyway, and the Hyuuga clan head was prepared to sacrifice entire teams to accomplish his goals. The whole situation felt like being at war again, the way it was when Sasuke had stirred up aggression from the neighboring kingdom of Sound, like trying to decide how much blood to pay in a raid. The only problem was that this…this mess that Hiashi had trapped him in the middle of was not a war at all, not against a real enemy anyway, and the blood paid would all be from his family. Whether Uzumaki suffered or Hyuuga, it was all people he loved and cared about!

Neji paced, blowing on his hands in the cold air as he walked. Civil war, fuck! It was happening and he seemed to be the only one still actively trying for a diplomatic solution. Naruto was basically ignoring the problem, Sasuke was subtly preparing for a siege and Kami only knew what Hiashi was doing. Tension between the two families had only been increasing since their meeting at the Hyuuga compound, though Neji was nearly positive that Sasuke and Sai did not realize that he had been waylaid for a secret meeting. Regardless, Sasuke was not an idiot and he knew the exercises being practiced and the general air of industry in the Hyuuga holdings could only mean one thing: preparation for pitched battle. Even as the Uzumaki clan drew ever further into itself, hiding within the estate and directing their focus to Sakura, the raven haired killer spent his free moments making traps and filling the cellar with nonperishable food and medicine. Clearly he thought that the estate might actually have to be actively defended, like a castle, and Neji already pitied whoever would be on the first line trying to penetrate the Uzumaki defenses. Every time he caught Sasuke dipping darts in neurotoxin or sharpening the teeth of his foot traps, Neji could only imagine Kou or Yuki or Kami-forbid Hinata being murdered by the deadly devices. Naruto sensed his worry and soothed him as best he could, but even the jinchuuriki noticed that Sasuke was preparing for an attack and made a point of giving his lovely murderer free reign to do as he thought best.

The woods were eerily quiet and even though he knew Sasuke's little arcade of death was still some ways off, Neji could not help but feeling as if the Uchiha forest was preparing itself for yet another slaughter. The air was frigid even if the snow was no longer falling and his breath plumed out before him in misty waves. He was not really dressed for the weather and the cold was slowly making his hands and ankles feel stiff and sore. Sakura was making a hot pot with scallops for breakfast and he really should be with her, sitting in the kitchen on Naruto's lap drinking tea and watching Sai methodically shave the onions of existence. Instead, he was stomping about through the snow like a madman wondering how to avert civil war between the people he was currently sleeping with and the ones who had raised him as a child. Neji had originally hoped that a walk might help him clear his thoughts or at least get him out of range of Sai's searching looks so that he wouldn't have to feel so damn guilty about the night before. Sai was an adult, a crazy one perhaps, but still an adult and he had every right to make choices about his own body without interference. The whole idea had seemed so plausible at the time, an easy way to make everyone happy and fulfill his obligations without committing some brand of treason, but he should have known that something so blind would never work.

Neji had agreed to report to Hiashi, to give one piece of information because doing so had seemed completely harmless and refusing would only get more people killed. At the time, kneeling before his leader in a hidden room of the Hyuuga compound while a clever copy followed Sasuke around the garden, it had seemed like the only option to prevent tragedy. There was no harm in following Hiashi's orders as long as Naruto waited to claim Sai, waited until after his daughter was born and preliminary agreements could be reached with Suna for arranged marriage. Neji had planned to send the offer himself, to marry Naruto's daughter the moment she was born so that his new family would be safe from Hiashi and everyone else. Gaara would readily agree, especially if the rumors were true and Matsuri would actually be able to conceive again. No one would dare insult Naruto with the royal family of Suna bonded as in-laws and Gaara's considerable temper to reckon with besides; everyone knew that the Sand God of Suna was not above genocide if it served to protect his friends. Unfortunately, that plan was falling apart and all because of the jinchuuriki's infuriating inability to say 'no' to Sai. Sai pushed and Naruto yielded. The kitsune was, apparently, far more vulnerable to simple whining than he was to Sasuke's threats or his own thoughtful manipulations.

As for the artist, he was terrified of being left behind by the pack if Sakura or Naruto were to die and pushed desperately for consummation any moment he was conscious; consummation their blond idiot was warring with himself every moment not to grant for the sake of desire alone. Naruto would mate Sai and he would do it soon and trying to stop them would only make Sai into Neji's enemy for the rest of his worthless existence. Sai already made a point of arguing with Neji over everything and the Hyuuga's insistence that Naruto should wait was poisoning their tentative attempt at a relationship even more. The others trusted Neji, more than he wanted to admit, but he could not tell them why waiting was so important and so little by little they pushed towards the claiming anyway. It was hopeless; there was no way to save everyone, no way to remain on neutral ground between Naruto's bed and the Hyuuga clan's secretive expectations.

Neji paused in his frantic pacing and knelt heavily in the snow to meditate, trying to shut away the turmoil of his feelings. He tried to find the quiet, find the center where he could think, but the emotion within only raged with even greater fury. He had failed, failed, and people would be hurt because of it. All they had to do was wait, wait for Sakura's baby and then Hiashi would be considerably less of a threat to her, to all of them. If Naruto decided to claim Sai now, before the birth, it would leave him vulnerable and…and the truth was that Neji didn't know what would happen. He did not know if Naruto would be harmed in some way or if Sai would even survive, if the energy would weaken Sakura more or even if the simple distraction of it could be used to facilitate more of Hiashi's unspoken designs. If he said nothing, more of his kinsmen would die by Sasuke's sword and if he did as he had been ordered…Neji shut his eyes and swallowed. The situation was only growing more volatile and there was no way to win if he couldn't anticipate what might happen in response to his actions.

"You look anxious, Hyuuga." Sasuke said.

Neji practically jumped out of his skin as he turned to find the beautiful murderer lounging in the branches of an ancient pine just behind him. Sasuke looked relaxed, as if he had been there all along. He was tracing the path of the brunette's unhappy pacing with the bloody glow of the Sharingan, watching as lazily as a viper might the movements of a cricket. Neji scowled. The darksome subordinate met his eyes and released the jutsu in a subtle show of trust, letting the true ebony of his irises meet Neji's gaze. The Hyuuga huffed a little.

"Where you following me?" He hissed.

"Yes." Sasuke said easily.

"Why?" Neji snapped.

"So that you won't be tempted to do something stupid, something you'll later regret." Sasuke said with a sigh.

"Sasuke…" Neji began, but the other nin raised a palm to silence him.

"I realize this is difficult for you. You know that I am preparing to kill your kinsmen." The raven haired ninja whispered, "This is an…unfortunate situation for everyone."

"Hiashi is just being paranoid." Neji said defensively.

"Maybe. Maybe he's being homicidal or aggressively political or frankly psychotic. I don't actually give a shit. Either way, I understand how manipulative a person's family can be." Sasuke said, leaping down from the tree to stand beside him in what was obviously supposed to be camaraderie.

"I don't want to hurt anyone." Neji whispered, looking away.

"I know, but you may have to and if you do I will ensure that it will be our enemies." Sasuke said, moving to lean casually against Neji's shoulder as if they had been lovers forever.

"Our enemies…?" Neji murmured feeling overwhelmed.

"Enemies of clan Uzumaki." Sasuke clarified, a bit tersely.

The way they were standing, shoulder to shoulder and each facing a different direction, Neji was spared the force of whatever emotion was lurking in Sasuke's eyes. The distance did not make him feel better. They were touching, almost embracing, and yet there was something aggressive in the contact too, something that promised violence if Neji chose to disobey.

"Sasuke, do you honestly think…" Neji began.

"I honestly think that it's difficult for someone to refuse their family, especially a clan." Sasuke began haughtily.

"I don't…"

"…And that's why I'm watching. It has nothing to do with trust." Sasuke finished, more gently than before.

"I thought, I was told that if I came here and Naruto accepted me…" Neji trailed off.

"That we might have peace?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow.

Neji nodded. The raven haired killer sighed and pulled his fingers through Neji's hair, smiling a little as the tresses flowed over his hand in the cold air. For a moment there was nothing between them except the touch and the almost childlike affection hiding in the corners of Sasuke's mouth. The way he wound Neji's mahogany tresses around his fingers in a coil only to let them spring free again was almost playful, a bit coy. It was a stolen moment, a tempting glimpse into how the world might be if there were no secrets, no deadly intrigue. Neji caught Sasuke's hand and pulled it to his lips, kissing each finger slowly, hoping to hold the illusion a moment longer.

"There is no such thing as peace." Sasuke said at last and the ebony wells of his eyes were dark and very deep with an emotion almost like pity, but far more savage.

Neji merely nodded, his decision made. Given a choice between losing operatives and simple paranoia about the possibility of a danger yet undefined, there was really only one option: to follow orders. Naruto was well protected and pacifying Hiashi, even for a few more weeks, may eventually solve any potential problems for him without sacrificing anyone. It was a calculated risk, but there was nothing else to do. Neji met Sasuke's eyes and smiled sadly. He would send the summons, tonight if Naruto was still touching Sai that way, and the only obstacle left was Sasuke's surveillance. The once-Uchiha was formidable, but Neji already knew how to distract him. It was something he had learned long ago from his sensei, something always teasing at the edge of his mind whenever Sasuke watched someone bleed. Part of the mystery surrounding the poignant smell of winter…

OoOoOoO

Naruto stroked Sai's shoulders, feeling inexplicably guilty even as the artist sighed beneath his ministrations, bending forward in obvious pleasure. He was seated comfortably on the jinchuuriki's lap in the warmth of the bath and the moment really should have been relaxing, but Naruto could not help thinking that he barely deserved the artist's easy company. They were alone for the first time in weeks and Naruto had hoped that the added intimacy might soothe Sai's frustration a little bit, but so far the bath was only oppressively quiet. Naruto tried to speak with touch, to let his hands say what his foolish brain always failed to convey. If Sasuke were here, he would have said that having everyone shut up for once was bonus enough and to be grateful. The jinchuuriki ran his fingers over Sai's spine and wondered, wondered if he was misreading the situation somehow, losign some level of subtlety with his subordinates. It was certainly possible. Sai had been so upset the night before when he made love to Neji, even though the love was good and the ink nin came easily, even though everyone knew that Naruto had no intention of going all the way. He sighed.

"Do you love me?" Sai asked suddenly, the question loud and very abrupt in the sunlit mists of the bath.

"Yes, very much, believe it." Naruto responded and pressed a kiss to the nape of the artist's paper-pale neck.

"Can you un-love me?"

The question felt like a ball of cold steel had been dropped into Naruto's belly, sudden and uncomfortable. The way he loved Sai, the way he loved all of them, was like breathing and the idea of simply not was almost unfathomable. Losing them, anyone, would feel like losing a limb. He would be crippled without them, his pack, his precious lovers.

"No, of course not. Why do you ask?" Naruto chuckled, feeling sick.

"I wish you could. Sasuke says that you won't take me because you love me, so if you didn't, then you could. I'd rather be with you and have you un-love me than be alone." Sai said, his tone blank.

"You aren't alone." Naruto said, pulling him tight against his chest.

"I feel alone, I feel…disconnected…I feel like I'm falling behind." Sai whispered.

"Why?"

"I'm afraid. The sharp thing inside me, it's dangerous, if it comes out…If it does and it cuts you…" Sai trailed off, shivering.

"Sai, what is it?" Naruto asked softly, narrowing his eyes.

"I don't know. Something old and dark from before, before I was a ninja maybe, but I'm not sure. Before I was anyone maybe." The artist mused cryptically.

"What does it feel like?" Naruto asked gently.

"Like a memory or a feeling, but bigger, like knowing when someone is following you even if you don't know who it is." Sai said, obviously struggling for a description.

"It's part of you." Naruto guessed.

"Yes, though unfamiliar." Sai nodded a little.

"Are you afraid I won't love you because of it?" Naruto asked gently, pulling the artist's head back to rest against his shoulder.

"Yes." Sai whispered, shutting his eyes tightly as a child might in the dark.

"I will always love you. I probably always have." Naruto whispered and he relaxed a little.

He was so striking, like coal and snow, nothing like any other person Naruto had ever seen. The black of his lashes against his cheeks were like calligraphy painted onto fine, white silk, the contrast almost too shocking to be truly beautiful. Naruto brushed his lips over Sai's neck, feeling the thrilling trill of his pulse jump at the kiss as his eyes fluttered. The ruddy glow of the late afternoon sun lent almost no warmth to Sai's skin, leaving him pale against the pink reflections of the sun against the rose marble of Sasuke's family bathroom. The desire surged in Naruto again, the powerful wanting that filled every nerve and made him ache helplessly. The feeling came whenever he was with Sai, a potential mate yet unclaimed, and it had barely waned following the conclusion of his heat. Kyuubi said it was because of how close Sai was with them, because even his body knew that they should be bonded. Naruto winced, clenching his hand.

"I want you." Sai whispered, turning in his arms.

"I know, but we can't…" Naruto sighed, gritting his teeth as the ink nin straddled his hips and looped his arms around his neck.

"Why?"

"Neji said…"

"Neji's wrong." Sai hissed.

"If anything happened to you, I don't know…" Naruto began but stopped as the artist's clever little teeth found his earlobe.

"It's hard, doesn't that mean that you want me?" Sai whispered, looking up through damp lashes the same coal black as his hair even as slender fingers below the water circled the jinchuuriki's length.

"Sai…" Naruto choked out, but the rest of the words were swallowed by the artist's kiss.

The heat was like an explosion, but sweeter, like nothing else in the world and Naruto was helpless against the force of it. Sai kissed him hungrily, mashing their noses together and sucking on Naruto's lips awkwardly, artless and imploring. He had to maintain control and regain distance, but the luscious curve of the other nin's buttock fit so naturally into his hand, the smooth flesh rippling with muscle as Sai undulated in the water. Kami, it was tempting and Naruto could feel the velvety kiss of Sai's hardened erection against own in the warm buoyancy of the water, just the barest touch and his belly jerked in anticipation. Sai moaned, low under his breath, almost a whimper. Searing passion ignited within him and, before he could regain his senses, Naruto was pulling Sai flush against his chest and grinding up against his graceful hips. Sai cried out, the sound filled with both passion and surrender, pressing his knees tight against Naruto's sides in a savage embrace.

He was overwhelmed and it was impossible to resist Sai this way, not when he was so soft and so eager. The jinchuuriki gripped the heavy dampness of Sai's hair in his other hand, forcing the man's head to the side to deepen the kiss even as he thoughtlessly pulled him closer. The elegant ridge of the artist's spine arched and Sai leaned backward a little, exposing the paper-whiteness and well sculpted muscle of his powerful chest to Naruto's hungry gaze. His nipples were small and still soft with the heat, a shade paler than even Sasuke's pink temptations and more like Sakura's in shape, like the first tender buds of plum or apple blossoms. So beautiful and made even more so with the sinuous way he was moving, like a willow blown in the wind, Naruto could feel his control fraying.

"Sai…I can only love you, I love you so much…" Naruto panted against his lips, struggling hard not to give in.

"I want you in me." Sai whispered.

"Kami! Don't say things like that!" Naruto hissed, nipping his throat aggressively.

"I do. If you're in me, then the secret thing won't matter anymore." Sai said tonelessly, spreading himself over Naruto's lap like a scroll unrolled upon a table.

"We don't know that, baby…"

"I want you. I want you to be inside me. I'm empty and the others are full, it isn't fair." Sai said, the barest hint of emotion leaking into his voice.

"Sai, we should wait." Naruto groaned, hands twitching against the artist's hips.

"I have waited. I've waited all my life." Sai said his voice beginning to be a bit raw.

"I know it feels that way, but we have time. We have time." Naruto said, feeling almost as if he were convincing himself.

"Dying is no different than this, no different than waiting instead of living. I'd rather die." Sai said, his tone at odds with the heat of the words.

Naruto closed his eyes and held him, moving almost subconsciously, skimming his claws over the snowy expanse of Sai's back. The ink nin shivered, but only clung to him more stubbornly, hands tangled in Naruto's hair with a lustful boldness that neither Sasuke nor Neji ever achieved. In this, Sai was really more like Sakura, his succulent aggression tempered with tenderness in a way that his other subordinates could never match and it was both familiar and stirring. Like a beautiful cup might hold tea or sake, Sai received his affection with such natural ease and Naruto could never quite find the strength to deny him. Sasuke said that Sai loved Sakura in the same way a person might love God, but that he loved Naruto like a man, that his passion was human in its hunger and mindless wanting. Sasuke said that was what made it so dangerous. Naruto thought he might have an inkling now what his beloved subordinate meant.

Sai's mouth was soft and sweet, too irresistible to deny, moist lips trembling against his own with fragile arousal. Sasuke submitted to him with practiced elegance and Neji threw himself recklessly into Naruto's arms like a sacrifice, but there was always an element of violence with each of them, of forces colliding and being overcome. Nothing like the natural way Sai opened himself for the jinchuuriki's touch, the unmistakable craving in the way he Sai responded to his advances, always tempting the contact to continue. He knew that Sai was devouring him, taking his passion like a thirsty man might water, and it was wonderful. Naruto had never before felt such unconditional acceptance, such perfect surrender, as he did now in the cloying delight of Sai's arms and mouth and body.

With a ragged sigh, the jinchuuriki gave in, running his hands up the damp skin of the artist's sides. Sai grunted a little and arched his back, pressing his hips into Naruto's waiting hands at the end of the caress. A heartbeat and the unmistakable sensation of slipping beyond safety into pure instinct, and then Naruto was touching the twitching flesh of Sai entrance with his second finger. Sai gasped, but did not flinch away as he had before, a striking blush coloring the paper-white contours of his cheeks as he breathed open mouthed against Naruto's lips. He quivered as Naruto pressed against the bath-warm flesh, testing the other man's acceptance of the intimacy, and pressed more firmly against the jinchuuriki's tingling body.

"I want it, I want it there…" Sai murmured, biting his lip as Naruto began to caress him.

"You're so soft here." The jinchuuriki mused, dipping his fingers into a bit of shampoo to ease the penetration, "So good to touch…"

"Deeper…" Sai pleaded, pressing back against him.

Naruto let his finger sink into the exquisite tightness, the unique softness of Sai's body, gasping as the artist moaned low and sensual against his neck. The shampoo made him slick and he knew it would be too easy to go fast, to treat Sai as he would Sasuke, so Naruto stilled his hand for a moment and waited for his breathing to quiet. Sai was practically gasping, pausing every so often to hold his breath entirely as he was stretched, body quaking in Naruto's arms. He sighed and let the artist's own weight in the steamy water push him further into the invasion, pausing when Sai's breath caught hard in something almost like a cry.

"Does it hurt?" Naruto asked gently.

"Yes…No…it hurts and the pain feels oddly pleasurable…" Sai shook his head, unable to describe the sensation.

"Sasuke says it's a weird feeling." Naruto chuckled softly. Sai nodded.

"It is…I feel full." Sai murmured.

For some unknowable reason, the words seemed to go directly to the molten arousal coiling low in Naruto's belly and an explosion of unexpected heat rocked him, stealing the very breath from his lungs in a rumbling cry. Sai moaned at the sound and began to move again, taking him deeper and thrusting against the aching hardness of Naruto's own arousal. They kissed again, tongues tangling wetly against one another and Naruto knew that he could not pull back, pull away. Loving Sai was like falling over a waterfall, more than easy, as inexorable as gravity and he was caught by the current.

OoOoOoO

Sasuke cocked his head, as if listening to some distant sound audible only to him, and a dark blush spread over his face. Neji raised an eyebrow, but he suddenly felt too inexplicably aroused to ponder the mysteries of Sasuke Uchiha beyond how the angle of his throat could possibly be so utterly perfect. He stepped closer, pulling Sasuke's silk kimono aside to lap at the racing pulse just beneath the man's jaw, moaning as Sasuke cried out in surprise. Neji was hard, his erection filling so swiftly that he felt mildly dizzy, the crisp scent of winter on Sasuke skin almost lost in the snowy forest around them.

"Ah! Naruto, he's…he's going to fuck Sai…" Sasuke gasped as Neji began jerking him out of his clothing.

"What?!" Neji asked, his passion suddenly cooled. Sasuke nodded, almost to himself.

"He is. He's going to take him." Sasuke said, shivering a little in reflected ecstasy from his alpha.

"So soon. Can…Can I stop them?" Neji asked, hands slipping from Sasuke's waste as the enormity of the news hit him.

"Nothing can stop Naruto when he's like this." Sasuke whispered, looking away.

Neji felt his belly grow cold and tighten, but he could not falter now, not when his inaction might bring even more death. Sasuke shivered again, whining a little under his breath as if he felt every caress, but his eyes were firm and very suspicious. Neji bit his lip, looking away.

"Why don't you want them fucking anyway? Why should it matter?" He asked, voice cool despite the deep flush staining his face and neck.

"Sakura's energy…"

"Sakura's energy was fine while Naruto was fucking you." Sasuke countered, shutting his eyes as another wave of arousal hit them.

When he opened them again, the darksome murderer's eyes were glowing with the Sharingan and shifting too fast, studying his energy with a furtive curiosity that made Neji's blood run cold. The Hyuuga swallowed hard and made his decision. He hoped that Sasuke would forgive him and that his theory would actually hold water in the first place. This was reckless, too reckless, but there was nothing else he could do.

"Ouch!" Neji gasped as he drew his hand as innocently as possible across the edge of a kunai hidden in his sleeve.

"Be careful! Moron." Sasuke snarled.

The wound was shallow, just deep enough to bleed, but there was barely a heartbeat before the warm gush of his own blood flooded down Neji's arm to drip from his fingers in steaming red. He shuddered a little, the sensation of being cut and bleeding melding powerfully with the cresting arousal warming his marrow as Sasuke reacted to Naruto's lovemaking. It was too familiar, too much like Anko, but of course that was the point. Neji rubbed the blood through his fingers, turning just a fraction so that the gesture would be noticed, playing the way he had a thousand times before when he tested the edge of Anko's control. Sasuke startled, the Sharingan snuffed from his eyes like a candle blown out in a sudden gust of wind, staring at where Neji was letting the blood run from his fingers in rivulets. For a moment no one breathed and then Sasuke turned away with a half-hearted little huff, hands shaking slightly.

"Yeah, sorry…" Neji muttered, running his other hand through the blood sensually, tipping his head back in invitation just as he did with his sensei so many years ago.

"Only an idiot cuts himself of his own damn kunai!" Sasuke spat, thrusting his trembling hands into his sleeves.

"I was distracted." Neji chuckled, smiling in what he hoped was a enticing way.

"You…You're really bleeding…" Sasuke said stupidly, staring at the dripping crimson like a python might a minnow. The enticement was apparently a success.

"Yeah…clumsy…" Neji murmured and moved the hand to his mouth, wincing a bit as he began to lick the blood from his fingers.

Sasuke's eyes widened, following the movements of Neji's tongue with such perfect fascination that it sent a shiver up the Hyuuga's spine. There was nothing human about that, about the near frozen focus of Sasuke's eyes and the manic desire surfacing in the dark mirrors even as Neji clenched the injured hand to make it gush, gasping a little at the tiny shock of pain. Sasuke swallowed, his throat moving mechanically, the pretty blush chased from his face by passion of a darker sort. Neji stiffened his resolve and allowed a little of the blood to smear across his lips. Sasuke gasped as if he'd been burned, backing away like a startled rabbit. Neji smiled, trying to focus on the triumph instead of the ugly feeling of betrayal twisting his belly. The killer's beautiful face was conflicted, like an opium addict watching someone slip poppy essence into their tea, mad with want and terrified at the same time. Neji could only hope that this, this sickness that he had slowly come to believe Orochimaru instilled in his students, was not the same. Sasuke licked his lips.

"You…You…" Sasuke stuttered, teeth chattering a little as he watched.

"Don't worry, it doesn't really hurt." Neji purred, meeting his eyes.

"I…I can't do this…I don't want to do this…" Sasuke whispered, hands clenching and unclenching even as he moved closer.

"Do what, lover?" Neji asked softly.

"Naruto…he…he doesn't know…" Sasuke moaned, following the bleeding hand with his eyes even as a single tear crawled down his face.

Neji felt a cold stab of disgust with himself. The way Sasuke moved, tried to resist, nervous and agonized was so like Anko and for a brief and awful moment he knew that it was just the same, that they were addicts made slaves to something darker than even his worst suppositions. Orochimaru had done something, something having to do with the cursed seal of heaven, that changed both Sasuke and Anko in ways far more fundamental than anyone else knew. They weren't human anymore, not completely anyway, but whatever it was they were…it was nothing he had ever seen before. Sasuke hungered for blood just as Anko did and he smelled the same way, their bodies altered in some invisible way, made the vessel for a tremendous evil. Neither of them could not resist an active seduction with blood play and Neji was knowingly using is against his lover. This was too horrible. He wanted to die.

"It's just a little cut…" Neji whispered, offering his hand in a cup to Sasuke.

"I…I don't want to be this way anymore…" Sasuke cried, his face crumpling in desperation.

"What do you mean?" Neji asked, even as he shuddered at the evil of it.

The blood gathered in his palm and Sasuke eyed it like a sane person might a poisonous snake, obviously charmed and terrified at the same time. Kami, Neji had never dreamed it would be so powerful for him! Anko had never resisted the blood play, but she had always seemed so much more controlled, almost nonchalant. Sasuke was trembling just looking at the grisly offering. Neji took a breath and promised himself that he would never do this again, not ever, not even if Sasuke begged him. Only once, only once and it would all be over. A single sin to pay for peace.

"Neji…" Sasuke moaned.

"It's okay…have a taste." Neji whispered, even as Sasuke gripped his arm in bruising fingers and ran his hot tongue over the Hyuuga's bloody fingers.

Sasuke's eyes rolled back into his head and he shuddered, lapping at the blood with darting flicks of his tongue, just like a snake scenting the air. Neji gasped, feeling powerfully aroused and nauseas at the same time, watching Sasuke drink his blood like it was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted. Naruto would never forgive him for this and Anko, Kami Anko! If she only knew that he was using the lessons learned in her arms to manipulate someone, to dull their sense to he could pass one last desperate message to Hiashi, his useless life would be over. Still, he'd gone too far and after this, after this all of it would be over and he could devote himself fully to trying to make amends.

"Nghhh…So good…" Sasuke moaned, sucking his fingers so eagerly that Neji felt his skin tear on the other nin's teeth.

"Naruto doesn't have to know, this can just be for you and me." The Hyuuga whispered, moving closer.

Sasuke was occupied, utterly absorbed in the sensuous lure of the blood-play, oblivious to the hand Neji held behind his back. The summons, a wriggling one eyed serpent, writhed to life at the directed jutsu he performed one handed against it's frozen body. The vicious little beast snapped savagely at Neji's fingers as he held it a moment longer, eager to be off to its master with news of his deception. He welcomed the pain and wished vaguely that the damn thing was poisonous. Sasuke hissed, just like a scalded snake, undulating against his body in wicked abandon as the would clotted and ceased to bleed. The Hyuuga met Sasuke lips, feeling a familiar thrill of erotic terror as Sasuke lapped at the blood still cooling on his mouth, just like Anko. They were creatures of the same species, but Sasuke was male and his reaction was already far more violent than Anko's had ever been, holding Neji in his killing hands like hapless prey. Neji knew he was playing with forces far darker and more powerful than he had initially realized, but the damage was done and now only Kami and Naruto would decide what would happen next. He released the summons and it raced to Hiashi across the snow like a malevolent shadow.

OoOoOoO

Sakura felt it, powerful emotion happening simultaneously and almost too potent to for her to easily comprehend. She felt the surging passion of Naruto's ecstasy as he surrendered to Sai's love, something she had been expecting and yet nearly enough to knock her to her knees in the library where she stood reading the most recent medical journal. The woman gasped and tried to clear her vision. There was more, something dark awakening that she hadn't felt since the early days of Sasuke's marriage to Naruto, an urge she had almost forgotten. She felt the hunger and also the chilly sucking of evil, something that drew all light into itself, the darkness that Sasuke had nearly drowned in so many years ago when Orochimaru took him.

"Sasuke! No!" She cried, knowing that he couldn't hear her and helpless to silence herself.

The woman struggled to her feet, beaten by the conflicting experiences of her mates like the cliffs in Grass country were by the waves of an angry sea. The emotion through the link was synchronized, feeding off of its own momentum like a vast weight rolling downhill, gaining power as every moment passed. It was a vicious cycle and the link they shared allowed the anguished lust to bleed into her own awareness as well, making her thoughts foggy and her body too slow, the hunger almost too much to ignore. She had to stop it or Sasuke might be lost, consumed by the darkness he had been struggling against for years, sucked into the abyss his master had opened in his soul.

OoOoOoO

Kiba recognized immediately that something had changed, though he could not explain why. The movement of the soldiers on the parade grounds had inexplicably ceased and everyone not standing in formation was gathered in the main hall. The men seated inside were just as still as the others, resting silently in tight groups and drinking sake in small, nervous sips. Everywhere he went, people were herding the children indoors and harvesting winter vegetables from the gardens that were barely even ripe enough to be edible. A grim sense of industry gripped the compound, present like a shadow in the way the women were polishing the already polished sets of armor and in the way the men seemed even more reticent than usual. He had immediately tried to go to Hinata, to ask what in the hell might be going on, but she was being kept in strict isolation and the guards refused to answer any of his questions. Something was happening in the clan, something very bad, and he wanted to know what it was before the situation got any worse.

The Inuzuka shoved his way through several columns of soldiers, moving towards Hiashi's scent as the elder moved along the rows of men in what could only be an inspection. The clan head was avoiding him, along with everyone else, but Kiba refused to be shut out completely and the branch house members would never outright refuse their princess's consort. He moved faster, practically jogging, until he saw the glint of fine armor. So, they were readying for war.

"Hiashi! Who are ya gonna fight when there's no war!?" Kiba shouted, his voice booming through the empty silence like a flash of lightning through a moonless sky.

"It's none of your concern." The elder muttered, tightening the fastening on the jaw shield of one of the soldiers.

"Do they even know? Did ya even bother to tell them what you're getting them ready to die for?" Kiba snarled.

"Silence! They know how to follow orders, you could learn greatly from the example of even the lowest Hyuuga. Perhaps your time would be better spent trying." Hiashi hissed, moving to the next man in the row.

"Only a rabid dog makes war in a time of peace!" Kiba roared.

"The only dog here is you and you are little more than a bitch with a jeweled collar." Hiashi said calmly, leveling his chilly silver eyes onto Kiba's flushed face.

"Yer crazy! It's your OWN people!"

"My people know their duty." Hiashi snapped, jerking a knife out of its sheath on a trembling youth's hip with enough force to make the soldier gasp.

"Your people deserve better!" Kiba snarled as Hiashi inspected the blade with frigid indifference.

"Stop shouting or I'll have you removed."

"At least tell yer men who you're planning to attack! They deserve to know that you're trying to kill Naruto…" Kiba hissed, more quietly than before but still readily audible to anyone who was listening.

A murmur went through the massed soldiers like a ripple through a stream and a few of the men closer to Kiba visibly palled. Kiba didn't blame them. When the hidden village of Glacier attacked Suna three years ago, Gaara practically smashed the entire nation into dust singlehandedly and sold what few people managed to survive into slavery to the kingdom of Wave. Jinchuuriki were not to be trifled with and Gaara's demon was only the single tailed Shukaku, demon of modest power compared to the Fox. No one knew what Naruto, bonded to the nine tailed Kyuubi, might be capable of now that he had gained control over the beast…what horror might be unleashed if he were truly angered.

"The target is irrelevant. A Hyuuga does his duty." Hiashi murmured, scowling.

"Bullshit! The target is everything, especially if it's a Jinchuuriki!" Kiba snapped.

"Silence your barking or I may decide I like you better without a tongue."

"You wouldn't dare…"

"I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. What can my dearest daughter do to protect her pet when her delicate condition requires therapeutic isolation? Besides, maiming you might serve to improve my daughter's humility, it would be good for her to have a small reminder of your rather obvious vulnerability." Hiashi said, smirking wickedly.

"That's just yer pride and it's gonna get um all killed!" Kiba hissed.

"Our pride, Kiba. Our pride and honor as a house and something that I had hoped you would learn to respect eventually. Now, quiet your mouth and dress." Hiashi said, turning to survey him with an expression of triumph.

"Dress?"

"Yes, in your armor."

"Ya can't be serious! He's…He's my friend!" Kiba gasped, feeling his blood run cold as he turned to see endless rows of Hyuuga faces, their silver eyes turned away.

So close and dressed in the identical house armor of common soldiers, all of them looked too shockingly similar, as if he was trapped in a house of mirrors instead of a courtyard filled with people. Hiashi meant to attack Naruto, a powerful being who had always protected Konoha and he meant to do it with Kiba at the head of his army, a sacrifice to his pride and blood lust. So many would die, so many no matter what he did and now he would watch them die while fighting a friend who had come to his rescue time and time again, as constant as the sunrise. Kiba felt his balance begin to fail a little, swaying a bit as the enormity of what such an atrocity would mean fully registered for him.

"You are a member of this house now, a leader in the Hyuuga clan and as such you will be the one leading them as a Lord should. May you return victorious." Hiashi said mildly, tapping a finger against the steel of his own breastplate.

"Please don't…" Kiba whispered, falling to his knees among the forest of his new clansmen.

"Perhaps I'm not as toothless as you hoped, my dearest son in law." Hiashi said and laughed, his voice filled with victory and murder.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The true violence of Sasuke's nature is unleashed as the Hyuuga vanguard begins their assault and Naruto crumbles beneath the dissonance of his and Sai's joining. Blood flows both between lovers and between enemies. WARNING!: This chapter contains graphic descriptions of blood, gore and the implication of sexual violence beyond the scope of the rest of the story up until this point.

To kill a jinchuuriki, like any powerful predator, is a difficult proposition without a very specific trap. Though few have the skill or patience to construct such a trap, the task can and has been done, usually employing a combination of deception and careful timing. Indeed, timing for jinchuuriki is everything and the hunter who understands this is formidable indeed. Jinchuuriki can be counted upon to behave predictably in certain instances and this aspect of their nature can give an enemy a rare opportunity to attack. Regardless of the risk, the vessels will act to protect their mates, even in circumstances that confound all logic. A wise hunter knows then, that the only suitable bait is a subordinate over which that same person has some external control. A subordinate is made almost more than mortal, with enough power to protect their alpha. However, this strength also represents a vast investment of energy, which can just as easily be used destroy the harmony of the beast's own soul. The creatures have apparently endless reserves of chakra at their disposal, for both combat and healing purposes, and such large pools of energy are by their very nature unstable. In this, both male and female jinchuuriki inherently surpass their human and demon counterparts. This, too, is their weakness if exploited properly. A jinchuuriki's endless chi, which imbues them with tremendous ninjutsu abilities and inexhaustible stamina, also requires a delicate balance of energetic synchrony to maintain. Like all other vast natural energies, control depends upon the alignment of the circuit in which it is contained. Disruption of their chakra not only leaves a jinchuuriki as defenseless as any other human, but can be enough to disrupt their other homeostatic systems, leading to abrupt and rapidly fatal decline.

-Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons

Sai writhed, making half-whimpered sounds of pleasure, bath-damp hair clinging gorgeously to his flushed cheeks as Naruto spread him across the pale sheets. The jinchuuriki closed his eyes, finding the stillness within and calling upon yet another ounce of precious control. The artist's pupils were blown dark and huge, making his black eyes even blacker, strangely inhuman in the filmy sunlight filtering through the paper shutters over the window. They had gone to Sai's room, mostly because it was the closest to the baths, and Naruto could not decide if he regretted the decision or not. The room was Sai's own private space, which he hoped would allow the artist another measure of comfort and security, but it was also surprisingly…distracting.

Sai had painted every available surface, including the paper screens and window coverings, with stunning portraits and abstract landscapes that all looked decidedly erotic. There was Sakura on the far wall, spread out on her belly in the rushing shallows of a river, round breasts pressed enticingly against her own crossed forearms. Even painted in black ink and very quickly, the girl's enticing expression was unmistakable, her tempting mouth drawn up in a smile that had been interrupted by some deeper pleasure. It was as if the river was making love to her, which was both disturbing and shockingly sexy. Naruto felt himself harden just looking at it, not to mention the full color painting on the ceiling of his wife's muscular curves draped in flowers and tied with sensuous looking vines to a perfect rendering of Sasuke. An unfinished painting of Neji lurked in his peripheral vision, only the Hyuuga's face and chest drawn with detail and the rest of his body barely a shadow in the ink and yet to be elaborated upon. The face was more than enough. Sai had drawn him looking back over his right shoulder, face twisted in pleasure, the muscles of his neck straining against some unseen embrace.

Naruto's mouth went dry just thinking about it and the painting was only of his face. Most of the door was covered in abstractions of bamboo, which looked entirely too phallic for Naruto's peace of mind and his own portrait was obviously still in progress on the wall to their right. The jinchuuriki tried very hard not look at that one, not because he found his own likeness at all arousing, but because Sai had drawn him with so much…so much sexiness, that he felt mildly violated. It was almost like the time TenTen and Rock Lee had gotten drunk and taken an entire album of naked pictures of one another, which somehow got distributed to everyone. Like Sai had seen him do something very private and managed to capture the moment perfectly for him to see at a later time. Naruto swallowed hard and took Sai's hardened length back into him mouth.

The artist's right leg was draped beautifully over his elbow, allowing Naruto the luxury to suck his erection and breach Sai's body with his fingers at the same time. The velvety skin of Sai's penis was soft and luscious against his lips and tender weight of his scrotal sac fit naturally into the jinchuuriki's palm as he held the heavy, silken flesh safely up and out of the way of his own plunging fingers. The first finger had gone in easily, maybe even too easily, and Sai had taken the second with equal grace, thoroughly distracted by Naruto's tongue against his cock. He shivered. Master Jiraiya said some people liked doing it without so much preparation, but that easy was good and the best way to make sure no one was injured. Sai's seemingly effortless reception of the invasion made Naruto hope that he would accept full penetration just as readily and avoid the inherent danger that came with trying to fight the thrall. In the meantime, Naruto was fully occupied trying to maintain his own control as each muscular undulation of the ink nin's intimate body caressed his hand.

Naruto never would have tried anything like this with Sasuke, having both hands occupied and simply relying on the other party to relax and let him have his way. It was not in Sasuke's nature to just comply, to allow something like lovemaking to happen without some sort of battle over it. Sai was different, more eager and also more frightened and raw, receptive like Sasuke could never be despite the fact that he had far less experience with the idea of allowing another person into his body. Neither approach was superior, but the flavor Sai lent to it was certainly new. Naruto let out a rumbling noise of pleasure as Sai spread his legs a bit more, allowing him to lathe his tongue over the tip of the ink nin's blushing arousal with greater ease.

Sai moaned, arching his hips up against Naruto's mouth. Kami it was hot, sweet and sexy and far too alluring for the artist's own good. He turned and pressed a kiss to the inside of Sai's knee before taking him into his mouth again, playing his teeth aggressively over the delicate skin. Sai let out a amatory little yelp at the touch and the jinchuuriki groaned around him as another piercing ache of desire lanced through his pelvis. With the passion came something else, a dragging chill at the edge of his thoughts, but it was gone before the blond could even analyze the feeling. He narrowed his eyes and gazed up at Sai. The artist did not look uncomfortable, though he was probably overwhelmed, and Naruto decided the feeling was just his own nerves. This was dangerous, after all, reckless, but now was very seriously not the time for anxiety. Closing his eyes and focusing on the delicate taste, the warm saltiness of Sai's precum, Naruto moaned. He sucked, hard and slow, just the way he knew would drive Sai to the edge of climax. The artist gasped in response, abdominal muscles quivering against Naruto's cheek, body responding almost too readily.

"Doin' okay?" The jinchuuriki whispered, releasing the hot flesh in his mouth with an audible pop and letting his lips play against Sai's shaft as he spoke.

"Ahh…" Sai groaned, closing his eyes, "Fuck…"

"Baby, are you doing okay?" Naruto asked again, more firmly.

"Yes…yesss…" Sai hissed, biting his lip as another moan tore its way from his throat.

Relieved, at least for the moment, Naruto sighed and licked his lips. The artist's internal body temperature was a little different, a little warmer than the others, but the heat only made the quivering slickness of his intimate skin more succulent to touch. The jinchuuriki pressed another open-mouthed kiss to Sai's arousal and pulled back a fraction as his fingers slid in fully to the knuckle. Sai whimpered, clawing the sheets beside his head in response to the stimulation and panting hard with the fleeting pain of the bigger incursion. His belly was flexing attractively, hips moving gently against Naruto's hands and the demon vessel could feel the movement inside as well. Kami, it was sexy! He pressed deeper, stretching the tight flesh slowly, and Sai cried out with impending orgasm. Sensing his release even before the sound, Naruto closed his thumb and first finger into a tight ring around Sai's shaft, halting his friend's release even as the artist's scrotum tightened against his hand. His hands were filled with him, just the right size, and there was something perfect about it. Naruto squeezed and Sai shrieked as his pulsing sex was caged in the jinchuuriki's fingers.

"Naruto…! I…I need to…" He rasped, writhing in frustration.

"Not yet baby, not yet." Naruto whispered, playing the edge of his third finger against the tight skin of Sai's entrance, enjoying the muscular texture of the other nin's intimate body.

"Ah…Ah!" Sai shrieked as Naruto allowed the edge of the additional digit to dip into the other man's entrance.

He pushed in before retreating, just a bit. Sai cried out again and bore down hard against Naruto's hand in surprised tension, a reflexive attempt to push the jinchuuriki's fingers out of his body. Though certainly unintentional, the action actually opened the narrow passage further, something Naruto had been hoping for from the beginning. The jinchuuriki held his breath as he felt the stiffness release and the tissues soften against the sensitive pads of his fingers. Now was probably the best chance he would have, but it would be very sudden for a virgin. With a soft exhale and a silent prayer, Naruto slid his third finger fully into Sai's untried body, waiting anxiously to see if the ink nin would be able to tolerate the increased penetration. It was tight, gloriously warm and tight, and his hand trembled with the instinctual desire to touch more deeply. Naruto grit his teeth together and waited. Sai gasped, the sound catching hard in his throat, swallowed as he fought to relax. The ink nin shivered and a glistening film of sweat erupted over his body in response to the delicate trauma. Naruto gave his scrotum a gentle squeeze as Sai's erection wilted a fraction against his lips with the pain.

"Hurts…feels like…too much…" He gritted.

"I know, love. It'll be better soon, try to relax for me." Naruto soothed, speaking gently despite the searing passion flooding his blood.

"Can't…can't…" Sai gasped.

"You can, just let it happen. You have to be able to just let it happen…" Naruto whispered, voice serious.

"Ugh…" Sai groaned, the muscles in his thighs jumping.

"Should we stop for now? We can always do more later…" Naruto offered, licking the artist's erection gently in an effort to make the offer playfully.

"…I…I can do it…" The artist panted.

Naruto waited a few beats of his lover's frantic pulse before Sai's quivering body began to soften and accommodate to the invasion. He breathed out, long and slow, even as his own body twitched with eagerness. Something was nagging in his consciousness, something deadly and dark grating against the edge of his mind, but the jinchuuriki shook the feeling away. He needed to focus on this and not some other, amorphous worry. Sai was trusting him to do this carefully, to take him without extinguishing his life, and Naruto felt his focus being taxed without outside distractions. Thankfully, the artist was responding more favorably than either Neji or Sasuke had before to the initial preparation, but comparing them was unfair considering the psychological damage each man brought to the experience. Neji had been abused and Sasuke…well, Sasuke was not used to accepting anything having to do with intimacy.

Naruto realized suddenly that he actually had no idea what normal was supposed to be, that none of his experiences could really be described as simple or direct. Still, making love to Sai this way seemed natural for the ninja the in a way it wasn't for the others and it lulled him into what was probably a false sense of ease. With Sai it was easy to be careless. Even now, where Sasuke would still be shuddering and snarling under his breath and Neji would be still and stiff beneath his hands, Sai was beginning to relax enough to move into the sex instead of away. Sai mewled, his breathing growing gradually more even as the softened flesh of his erection slowly began to stiffen once again.

"How…how many…?" Sai asked, blushing darkly as Naruto bent to take his shaft fully into his mouth again.

"Just three…" Naruto murmured against him, shifting up to kiss the ink nin's lips as he let his hand rest where his mouth had been.

"Feels bigger than that." Sai whispered, turning away and shuddering again as Naruto moved the digits within him.

"I know, baby." Naruto chuckled.

"Is it…big enough?" Sai asked timidly, showering Naruto's mouth with tiny, hesitant kisses.

"No…Not quite yet…" The jinchurriki replied, feeling both pained and aroused by Sai's plaintive sound of disappointment.

The ink nin's skin was shining dully with sweat and as lovely as the spectacle was, Naruto recognized it as a sign that he was in pain and dangerously close to going a little shocky as well. They kissed a while, Naruto moving his hand in slow circles within Sai's body, painting pre-cum against the other ninja's hip with his own weeping arousal. The artist sighed, undulating against Naruto freely, and his color improved with every breath. Naruto knew that patience was important in this, no need to rush, but Kami he was hard! Sai moaned, thrust against him demandingly, and the jinchuuriki practically snarled with want. His arousal was firm again and Naruto trailed an idle finger along the underside of Sai's penis just to watch him thrust his hips up against the contact.

"What does it feel like?" Naruto asked softly, rubbing his palm over the velvety crown of Sai's erection.

"You don't…you don't know?" Sai asked, raising an eyebrow even as he struggled to catch enough breath to speak.

Naruto shook his head with a timid smile. He had never been in the other position, never allowed someone else to enter him this way, even though doing it to others seemed to come as naturally as breathing. Sasuke would certainly have something to say about that, but it was just the truth. Master Jiraiya had offered once, half in jest of course, and long ago when he was still learning everything about being a ninja and certainly not ready for something like sex. Pervy bastard had probably known all along that he would refuse. Now Naruto almost wished he had accepted, especially because he missed the old hentai so badly, but even the thought sent icy spears of doubt into his gut. If Sasuke was right, and he was very rarely wrong about anything academic, he might not even be able to do it without freaking out. There was something mildly unfair about that.

"No," Naruto whispered at last when Sai halted his body in confusion, "I never have."

"Oh. Is it because you can't?"

"I'm not really sure. I never tried, never even thought about it." Naruto sighed.

"Well…it feels good, like you can't think about anything and nothing is wrong, everything too sudden and too intense." Sai began, scrunching his face up in concentration as he tried to describe the feeling.

"Good, that's what I want…" Naruto purred, biting the edge of the artist's ribs gently and enjoying the startled moan he got in response.

"There's pressure too, like being too full with hot tea. It's warm like that, but having your fingers in me makes me feel very delicate somehow and there is pain too." Sai continued, as if he hadn't just been crying out in ecstasy and Naruto was not currently in the process of fucking him.

"Too much pain?" Naruto asked, concerned.

"No. It's not that it's too much. More that it feels…I don't know…too deep. Not something you can shut out and ignore like other pain. The fullness of it feels like bowing on your knees and being overwhelmed by something bigger and stronger and…and submission, but good." Sai decided at last.

"That doesn't sound good at all!" Naruto laughed, feeling uncomfortable.

"But it's you and so it is." Sai assured him, tipping his chin back for another kiss.

OoOoOoO

Neji knew he had gone too far. Maybe he had even known it before now, maybe "too far" had happened the moment he allowed Naruto to guide him into Sasuke's body or when he allowed Hiashi to sell him into marriage in the first place. Not that any of it mattered. The important consideration was that he, Neji Hyuuga, had been aware of the risk and he had tempted Sasuke into darkness anyway. If the other man killed him now to drink his worthless blood, then his death would be more mercy than he deserved. Neji screamed as Sasuke broke his fingers, lapping greedily at where the jagged bone tore through the flesh and brought forth a fresh gush of steaming blood. Sasuke crouched over him and Neji knew he only had moments before the blood running over his shredded palm ceased to satisfy the creature and the beautiful killer went for his throat instead. He could see now what Anko had been so afraid of, the monster she kept caged and out of sight, and for once he agreed that it was not something he could handle. To think he had once judged her so harshly, just for trying to protect him. He was an idiot. Sensei was right, of course she was, and he was just a fool trying to prove himself a man.

Sasuke raked sharpened teeth over the quivering skin of his forearm, tearing the flesh savagely and sending a fresh arch of searing pain through Neji's awareness. The brunette fought a little, trying to pull the limb loose without surrendering any more skin, but he was too shocked to make a concerted effort and the other ninja overwhelmed him easily. Sasuke had torn the muscles in Neji's dominant hand and the Hyuuga could barely move it, but he tried to jerk himself out of his lover's wicked talons on reflex anyway. The chilly air against the wound felt sickeningly, weirdly numbing and Neji's vision swam dangerously. He was going to die this way, Sasuke was going to murder him and then probably eat him before coming back to his senses, if he could even come back from this state. Kami only knew what Naruto would say about his death, if any of them would survive the coming conflict to worry about something as inconsequential as his shattered corpse.

Sasuke hissed, crouching over his prone body with his wings splayed out behind him in some kind of predatory threat display, black lips pulled back thin and tight over his bloody fangs. Neji closed his eyes, unable to look into the festering amber coals that had become the other man's irises. There was nothing of him left in the monster's gaze, nothing of the person he cared about. Sasuke shrieked, the sound almost like steel shattering on frozen glass, like some perversion of a serpent's hiss, and he winced just to hear it. Naruto was busy with Sai and even if he realized what was happening, there was no reason to believe he would be able to stop Sasuke in time, no reason to believe that anything could stop him like this. The Hyuuga screamed as Sasuke flapped his wings and used the momentum to throw his weight fully against his chest, breaking his ribs. Even Naruto had lost to him when the seal was fully activated and Neji had no delusions about the fact that Sasuke intended to tear him into dripping pieces.

Sasuke, the darksome killer he had somehow fallen in love with along with the others, was changing into something…something else… right before his eyes and Neji was powerless to stop it. The demon wearing a mockery of Sasuke's face was like hatred incarnate, as fundamental as Naruto's Fox oni, but unnatural. It was like Orochimaru had created a jinchuuriki of his own, created an elemental demon out of hate and pain instead of fire and lightning, and then shoved the creature deep into Sasuke's soul. The seal, the cursed seal everyone had hoped was dead, had been glowing red and orange like a brand on Sasuke's neck even as his skin grew ashen and gray. The scent of winter had grown too sharp, burning in Neji's nose like alcohol even as the raven's fingers sprouted sooty talons. The transformation happened much too quickly for Neji to really understand what changed first, but he thought it might have been the wings, wings that were also like clawed hands turned backwards. It was ugly, this thing Sasuke had become and the brush of his beloved's now navy colored hair sent spear of revulsion through his addled nerves.

"Scared, Hyuuga?" The monster rasped, pausing in the destruction of his hand to leer up into his face.

"You can still talk!?" Neji gasped, eyes shooting open at the words.

"Oh…pretty eyesssss, I'll tear them from your ssssskull…" Sasuke hissed, beating his wings in excitement.

"Kami! I'm sorry, Sasuke! I'm…I'm sorry!" Neji cried, shrieking as the thing played its claws over his cheek, stabbing deeply into his face.

"Yesss, scream…I like it better when you ssssscream!" It snarled with maniacal glee.

"Just…just fight it! Hang on! Naruto can…" Neji shouted

"Naruto? Naruto? Master Naruto isn't here, lover! He can't feel you crying for him either. I made sure of it." Sasuke laughed, the sound like dead leaves burning.

"Sasuke, please…" Neji pleaded

"No begging, baby, I don't like that…" Sasuke crooned, breaking his arm with a resounding snap.

Neji screamed and kept screaming as his shoulder was wrenched from its socket. He followed the direction Sasuke was pulling, trying to wriggle out of the thing's grasp, but Sasuke brought one of his clawed wings down onto his left hip. The talons pierced his flesh, pinning him in place as Sasuke tore the kimono from his chest, the sound of shredding cloth nearly as loud as Neji's own heartbeat. Almost without thinking, Neji jerked a kunai up and into Sasuke's throat where the weapon skipped off the monster's skin like a flat rock thrown against the surface of a lake.

"No…" Neji gasped as Sasuke's mouth opened into another vicious grin.

"Oh yesssss, fight me…" Sasuke crowed triumphantly, lathing his tongue over Neji's chest in a chilly facsimile of a kiss.

"I don't want to fight you! I love you!" Neji shouted, baring his teeth.

"Love!?" Sasuke spat the word as if the very taste of it was bitter to him.

Neji used the split moment of hesitation to roll, dislodging Sasuke's razor-sharp wing talons from his body with an agonizing squelch, bouncing up onto his uninjured left hand and kicking out. Neji used the momentum of the movement to lurch his flopping shoulder back into place with a sickening pop that radiated in nauseas waves all the way up into his jaw. Neji ignored the pain and launched himself forward, feet connected soundly with Sasuke's chest, but it was like kicking an oak tree. The monster spun, trying to throw Neji off balance, reaching almost casually for his ankle. The Hyuuga let out a ragged huff of breath and jumped, hands flying into caging jutsu, a technique he hadn't used in years and the sent scorching pain through his fractured arm. Despite the injury, he managed the last symbol and the energy jumped and flared, forming a glowing cage around Sasuke's transformed body. Neji had a breath, maybe even a fraction of a sob before the monster beat its wings and the chakra buckled and disappeared with a fizzle of energy. Despite the pain, Neji was already preparing his next technique, Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists. Clenching his mangled hand into as best a fist as he could, Neji finished the jutsu and a surging ball of energy formed around his hands, gaining every moment in power. The monster hissed, taking to the air, the beating of his wings like thunder. Neji released the jutsu, watching as a cyclone of snow rose around them.

The jutsu hit Sasuke, and for once the beast was not able to merely bat the energy away. He shrieked, rolling with the strike and diving for Neji like an eagle, wings folded tight to his body and long blue hair blown back from a face that was still too much like the one he knew. The Hyuuga turned, smoothly evading the other ninja's attack and striking Sasuke's left shoulder with a flash-bomb. Sasuke was thrown into the snow with a crash, but Neji barely had a moment to blink before he was rolling up and into a fighting stance. Neji flew at him, hitting with a volley of punches, trying to overwhelm the monster's defense enough to get an opening, forced to strike only with his left. It was risky, his arm was already fractured, but a single opening was all he needed to block Sasuke's chakra and effectively paralyze him.

Neji's wounds were still oozing, his entire right side coated in sticky blood and wracked with agony, he had to finish this soon if there was to be any chance of saving them both. Sasuke dodged, too fast to see, but Neji was using the Byukugan and anticipated his movement perfectly. With a shriek, the Hyuuga adjusted his stance, driving his first left two fingers deeply into the joint of Sasuke's left hip and the chakra channel it contained. With the Byukugan, Neji could see the glistening flow of energy cease, For a moment, everything was still and then Sasuke was laughing the same metallic hiss he had before.

"Yessss, lover, yesss! I'm glad I didn't kill you! You are fun!" Sasuke crowed.

"Stop this!" Neji snapped, stabbing his fingers into Sasuke's throat as well.

"Better than kissesss, isn't it…?" Sasuke purred, licking his lips.

Neji watched in horror through the shimmering Byukugan as Sasuke's chakra pathways branched, fracturing into multiple conduits, and flowed around the obstructions he had created in the man's body like rivers breaching a damn. Rerouting one's own chakra was impossible! He knew it was! He gasped and then Sasuke's jagged claws were wrapped around his throat, choking him. Neji kicked, but Sasuke maneuvered him back and against his own chest with almost laughable ease, squeezing his airway tightly enough that darkness threatened the edges of Neji's vision. He struggled, trying to breathe, writhing desperately and fighting to resist the searing panic racing through his veins as his body fought for air. The Hyuuga shrieked in a feeble attempt at a scream as the monster sunk its teeth into his injured shoulder, tugging brutally against the already bruised ligaments. He could feel the fresh heat of new blood pouring down his chest. Sasuke finally loosened his grip enough to allow him a single desperate breath before tightening again.

Neji ignored the agony in his lungs, and pulled another kunai from his belt. He stabbed back into Sasuke's belly, twisting the blade so that it would be more likely to cut through whatever was hardening his skin. Unlike before, the weapon bit into the grey flesh and a brief rush of icy blood coated Neji's hand. The creature snarled, throwing him in a heap into the snow as Neji gasped for breath, trying to roll. His vision was swimming and he was losing too much blood, but the Hyuuga somehow managed to remain conscious as Sasuke stalked towards him, the wound on his abdomen oozing black liquid in a lazy trickle down his belt.

The creature bent low, crouched as it had been before, and ran its tongue over the wound on his hip. Neji felt a deep shudder of pure disgust run through him as he shoved weakly at Sasuke's head, the monster's tongue probing savagely at the torn flesh, eyes closed in eerie bliss. Neji yelped and tried to scramble away, trying to escape on base instinct. Sasuke grabbed his ankle, and squeezed until the bone groaned under the pressure and Neji lost control of his breathing with the pain. He screamed, the sound torn from his throat against his will and then he couldn't stop screaming. Neji arched against the snow, body no longer responding to his logic, every cell filled with the searing pain and dragging fatigue of broken bones and blood loss. With a lewd chuckle, Sasuke began to tear the Hyuuga's clothing away.

"Sasuke no!" Neji shrieked, eyes tearing as the movement jarred his wounds.

"Oh, yesss…you're even prettier like thissss…" Sasuke hummed appreciatively.

"Stop! You would NEVER do this! Never!" Neji snarled.

"No stopping, precioussss…there's not enough pain yet." Sasuke hissed, biting at his lips.

The monster flipped him with a violent jerk, pressing Neji's face with a bruising thunk into the hardened snow, fingers wound painfully into his hair. The Hyuuga snarled as his cheek was ground against the unforgiving snow, scraping the skin. The tearing of silk was loud in his ears, like a siren, a warning come too late. The sound sent a bolt of true terror plunging into his chest for the first time as Neji realized that Sasuke had not chosen to just break his neck and drink his blood like he first imagined, that he was toying with him for a reason. Sasuke made a sibilant noise that nonetheless sounded…aroused.

Cold horror flooded over Neji's awareness as Sasuke caressed his shivering hips, dragging his claws over the exposed flesh with in blatant suggestion of more pain yet to come. Sasuke meant to rape him. Kami, no, not this too! Neji shrieked and struggled with new strength, trying to form jutsu one-handed. The small flash of chakra exploded, but Sasuke snuffed it out with a single beat of his horrible wings, laughing cruelly as his ran his tongue along Neji's spine.

"You don't want to do this!" Neji shouted desperately, "This isn't who you are!"

"Sssssooo much noise, maybe I should eat your tongue?" Sasuke chuckled.

"S…Stop! Just kill me! Don't do this!" Neji shrieked, clawing at the ground.

"Come on lover, let's fuck." Sasuke purred and bit him again.

OoOoOoO

Kiba stood nervously at the head of his troops, thinking furiously and trying desperately to remember every word Naruto had ever said about the geography of the Uchiha fiefdom. There was the western forest and the eastern forest and between them a deep ravine where the hot springs that fed both the public baths and warmed the main house met the Chosokabe river. A mixture of hot and cold water meant steam, lots of steam to hide his people, which might be useful if he could only figure out how to get there. Hiashi had assigned him a company of twenty rookie nin and put them at the spearhead of his attack, a blatant ploy to get both Kiba and the more inexperienced soldiers killed. Poor kids. Kiba snarled in frustration and Akamaru echoed the sound. If he just deserted, Kami only knew what Hiashi would do to his unborn children and if he stayed…they would grow up without a father just as he had.

Kiba spat from Akamaru's back, the very thought putting a bitter taste into his mouth. Hiashi was a clever bastard, but he was not done yet, not by a long shot. If living with the Hyuuga clan had taught Kiba anything, it was the value of patience and a well-timed lie, a lesson he had used to buy himself a little bit of maneuvering room. He had acquiesced to Hiashi's madness as publicly and convincingly as he could, pretending to be horrified and devastated wasn't really that hard, and the old psycho had drunk it up. Apparently, Hiashi's weakness was his pride and a little groveling went a long way. Kiba was not above groveling if it got him what he wanted and that same pride was going to lead his father-in-law directly into Naruto's jaws where the jinchuuriki would crunch him up into itty bitty snack food and then spit him up for Sasuke to devour. Kiba laughed a little at the thought, scanning his eyes over the land again, trying to remember if there might be some way to get down into the ravine before Sasuke and Sai chopped his troops into pieces.

"Kiba-sama, do you see something?" The boy to his left shoulder asked.

"Nope, that's why I keep lookin'." Kiba replied, giving the kid a smile.

"Aki says that we got lucky being put with you, that you're a great warrior." The boy said, smiling shakily.

Kiba looked him over, shaking his head sadly. The kid looked like he was barely fifteen, face still soft with youth and body ungainly with new growth, eyes shining with both hope and terror. Kami, had he ever looked like that? Hiashi considered the boy expendable because he was too young to have any decent fighting experience and too old to be considered a child and left at home with his mother. Kiba had seen this before, seen it too much in Sasuke's wars when the other side got too desperate, wide eyed teenagers running into battle with weapons they barely knew how to use. He himself had probably been a child soldier a few times as well, but he never went into battle without his master, without knowing that there was someone there who would help him. These kids had no help, no sensei, they only had him and that was fucking sick enough.

"Would ya believe me if I told you that the greatest warriors are just the ones that come back?" Kiba whispered, meeting the boys eyes again.

"Well…I don't know. Everyone says it's glorious to die in battle." The child said softly, fiddling with the silver feathers on his helmet nervously.

"Humph, whoever said that is alive to say it ain't they?" Kiba growled.

"Y…Yes, Kiba-sama." The boy agreed nervously, biting his lip and jumping to attention.

"What's yer name, kid?" Kiba asked, angry at himself that he'd snapped at the boy.

"Yumi," He replied a bit tartly, "And I'm sixteen."

"Oh, double digits and everything? Guess that means you're a man." Kiba huffed, rolling his eyes.

"Man enough to fight sir!" Yumi said, slapping a kunai against his breastplate with a metallic crack.

Soon the entire company was doing the same, slapping their weapons against their armor enthusiastically and in perfect unison. Kiba groaned. The salute sounded once more and then again before his little troops quieted down again. He supposed that it didn't matter if Naruto knew their position since he had no intention of sticking around here for Sasuke, Naruto's pet demon, to come and tear their throats out. If it made his boys feel a little better to raise an unholy ruckus then there was no point spending energy to stop them. The key would be getting them to follow his commands when they inevitably clashed with Hiashi's, to obey quickly even though they had never worked with him before. Even with the rigorous Hyuuga battle training, they were just too young to be expected to snap to an order instantly. Their inexperience may be a good thing if they snapped to his commands instead of Hiashi's, but the whole situation had plenty of potential to turn into a giant cluster fuck anyway. Puppies made poor soldiers, but Kiba had no intention of letting fucking Sasuke Uzumaki slaughter his troops just because they happened to be in his way.

That's what Hiashi failed to understand about all this, that Naruto's vanguard would be the same ninja that had once terrorized entire nations. Naruto may be the head of the family and the most powerful, but Sasuke was always the one to worry about. Now of course there was Sai too, newly claimed and probably just as thirsty for blood in his own weird empty way, as well as Neji. Kiba may not know anything about jinchuuriki, but he knew about packs and if Naruto's pack was anything like a dog pack then the alpha would stay close to the female and the others would be the first wave they would contend with. Not that fighting Sai and Sasuke and Neji would be any better than fighting Naruto himself; the other nin were formidable even without their alpha's power and Kiba fully expected to find them in a territorial bloodlust the minute Hyuuga feet touched Uchiha soil. Subordinates, subordinates were the ones to worry about and they would most likely be led by Sasuke as he was very clearly Naruto's second. Kiba whined a little under his breath. Talking the ebony haired psychopath out of killing had never worked before and Kiba certainly couldn't imagine having more success with Sasuke's unborn baby at stake.

"Kiba-sama will be victorious!" Someone shouted from behind his left shoulder.

"Yes! And we have Akamaru-san as well!" Another youthful voice piped up.

"Quiet, brats!" Kiba snarled and his troops were silent immediately. That gave him a little hope.

Kiba surveyed the tree line again, searching his memory for a safe way to get around Sasuke and out of sight. He would just have to trust Hinata to protect their children for now, she was a force to be reckoned with and Kiba knew that there was no other option. These stupid little boys were his kids too, his clan, his pups and he'd be damned to watch them all die for the sake of Hiashi's pride and Sasuke's vicious indignation.

"Well, Yumi. Do ya wanna live?" Kiba asked the boy, raising an eyebrow.

"Y…Y…Yes Sir." The boy stuttered miserably.

"Then do exactly as I say and tell Aki and all yer other friends too. You follow my bark and no one else's! I say down and you're on yer face! I say jump and you fucking JUMP! NO questions, NO back talk and NO hesitation! Got it!?" Kiba barked, turning Akamaru so he could face them from the giant dog's back.

"Yes Sir!" Yumi shouted, snapping eagerly to attention once again.

"Yessir!" The others chorused as one.

Kiba looked them over, trying to memorize faces, trying to decide who would keep it together and who would panic when the battle started heating up. Twenty pairs of glowing silver eyes tracked his progress as he rode, faces filled with desperate hope and not a small amount of fear. Kiba sighed. He had underestimated them and he shouldn't have knowing what household these boys had grown up in. They all knew that they had been sent here to die and that only his leadership held whatever hope they might possibly have of survival. Kiba turned back and extended his hand to Yumi from Akamaru's saddle, with another long sigh wondering how the hell he was going to pull this off. The youth looked at his open palm uncertainly, silver eyes huge with doubt.

"Come on." Kiba urged with a smile.

The boy's mouth firmed into a serious like and he nodded once before taking Kiba's hand, swinging up behind him on the saddle. Kiba could feel him shaking against his back and it only stiffened his resolve further that nobody was going to die under his watch today. Yumi petted the giant dog's hip worshipfully, letting Akamaru's long fur slide through his fingers. Kiba smiled.

"Okay, you know how to shoot that thing?" Kiba asked, gesturing to the bow slung across Yumi's chest.

"Yes sir." Yumi nodded.

Kiba actually believed him. The bow was something a person could practice and master without the heat of battle, without someone actually trying to kill you, to hone the skill. Yumi was probably a lot more dangerous and experienced with the weapon than he was with a kunai or tanto. That was the first mistake every green nin made, using a blade when a projectile was more familiar, easier to control under pressure and something that could be used to engage an enemy from afar. They weren't good enough with tanto yet to meet someone like Sasuke head on and live, but even Naruto's killer subordinate was not immune to arrows.

"Okay, Yumi, you see anything even twitch in that forest I want ya to put an arrow in it." Kiba ordered.

"Yes Sir." The boy whispered, unslinging the bow and drawing it in readiness.

"As for you pups, follow me as soon as I give the signal. We're getting out of here." Kiba said and Akamaru howled in agreement.

OoOoOoO

Sakura was already feeling breathless when she heard Neji scream for the first time, but the sound put new adrenaline into her blood and the girl managed to keep running. She held her heavy belly tight, trying to navigate the snowy forest terrain without bashing herself into anything or bouncing the baby to death. Tsunade would be furious and Sakura knew she was not supposed to be doing this, but she could feel them hurting, feeling the icy darkness clawing at Sasuke's spirit and the pounding terror pushing against Neji's control. Something very bad had happened and no matter what, she had to keep going, had to find them before it was too late and Sasuke was lost to her forever. She knew now that Neji's life was at stake too, that Sasuke was hurting him and that by doing so he was only really hurting them both, that her men were tangled together in some new horror. She gasped, fighting for breath, muscles quivering with fatigue. Kami, she had gotten so weak! Still, Sakura was unwilling to let her men die, not now when everything was finally starting to be okay and her family was so close to being united.

Neji screamed again, this time the sound loud and plaintive enough to raise a flock of birds from their roost within the trees, the kind of sound someone only made when seriously injured to the point where control and martial discipline shattered. She panted, tempted to pause, just for a moment to catch her breath. If not for the baby, Sakura could have used jutsu for force the land to roll forward and carry her or even activate the origami bird scroll Sai had given to her for emergencies. As it was, any surge of chakra beyond simple survival put her child in jeopardy and her own life in very real danger as well. Dying in the forest of energy poisoning would not save anyone. She tried again to call for Naruto, sending her emotion out towards him in frantic surges, but something was blocking her and the only feeling she got when probing for him was a vague kind of psychic static. For the first time in years, Naruto couldn't hear her feelings and the girl was truly on her own.

The emptiness where he should be was terrifying even though she could almost feel her husband just beyond the barrier, feel the heady arousal as he loved Sai, both of them unaware that something horrible was happening. Sakura decided that even the suggestion of being alone in her own head was more than intolerable and that even if she had truly forgotten what it was like to do things by herself, she had no interest to relearning the skill. To be alone without Naruto's presence was like some kind of sensory deprivation, like being drowned in dark water. Sasuke, at least, was still with her and growing more heavy and wrathful by the moment. She groaned. No matter what she felt or didn't feel, none of it was good.

"Come on, Haruno!" Sakura snarled at herself, gathering her muscles for a jump.

Moving into the trees was risky too and in this state she could easily fall, but the pink haired kunoichi also knew that she would be faster off the ground and less likely to trip on something and end up in a ditch. She leapt, too-long nails scrabbling for purchase against the bark as she fought for balance, the weight of her baby throwing off her center of gravity. Stupid nails! She probably looked like some daimyo's concubine, a caged woman bought with power and money, but appearances could be very deceiving and there was nothing that could keep a kunoichi from her target. Still, being both pregnant and a ninja was pure insanity and she would have to go about this carefully. Sakura swallowed hard, eyes trained steadily forward towards the direction of Neji's last shriek and away from the precipitous drop that waited for her if she lost her footing. Carefully, one motion at a time, the kunoichi removed her silk slippers and placed them delicately against the angle of one of the tree branches.

It was cold, but she would be infinitely more sure-footed and swift if she ran barefoot. Only pausing a moment to be assert her balance was firm, Sakura shot forward, running along the tree boughs with enough momentum to compensate for her clumsy body. Stopping was going to be interesting, but for the moment speed was her main concern. She leapt from tree to tree as she had all her life and her body remembered the motion even with the additional weight of her burden. The girl was covering ground far faster than a civilian, but the effort was beginning to tell. Her abdominal muscles ached with the movement, clenching with the constant readjustment of her balance, and Sakura felt her bile rise in her throat. Nausea flooded her awareness, but she was used to feeling sick and as long as it didn't come with vertigo she would be fine. She swallowed hard and kept moving, they couldn't be too far now.

With the wind rushing against her ears, it was more difficult to make out individual sounds, but Sakura strained her hearing for Neji since he was the one making noise before. The fact that Sasuke was not making noise was both a relief and also utterly terrifying. The most dangerous predators were the quiet ones and if Sasuke had been overcome by…by whatever it was that Orochimaru did to him so long ago, he would definitely be stalking for prey. Quiet could be bad, but it might also be that Neji managed to knock him unconscious. She had very little hope that such an eventuality was possible, Sasuke had been nearly invincible even as a child, but Neji was a magnificent ninja and she could at least hope…

As she ran the Hyuuga's screams rang through the forest, sounding every few moments, and the shuffling din of a struggle was becoming more audible as well. She cursed softly and pushed an extra fraction of speed out of her stride, praying that she would reach them in time. Sakura was close enough to see the snow rising into flurries above the darker branches when she heard it, a sound like thunder but darker, the hellish beating of Sasuke's wings in his seal-activated form.

"Oh Kami, no…!" She whispered, coming to a halt and nearly falling as his form rose above the forest.

Sakura gasped, sinking to her knees and clutching the trunk of the tree. She hadn't seen Sasuke use the seal this way in years, not since returning to Konoha, and the spectacle made her blood run cold. Sasuke flew, his body as graceful in the air as it was on land, but there was a diabolical purpose to his movements that made him look horrible somehow. Naruto had never spoken about the Valley of the End, but one night he had gotten very drunk with Kakashi and she had overheard him mention Sasuke's other form. His voice had shaken talking about their battle and he said that the worst thing was the wings, that he hadn't noticed at the time, but later had nightmares about those wings. Sakura had listened, feeling tortured, hoping that Naruto's mind was just playing tricks on him due to the stress. She should have known better.

Sasuke rose higher into the air, navy blue hair swirling with the rush of air generated by the hideous clawed wings that bore him, body taught and rigid with combat. His face, what she could see of it, was focused in an expression she had only seen him use when trying to kill something. Sakura clutched at her belly as the tears welled in her eyes, knowing that the seal poisoned Sasuke's very soul and that while he was in that form he would also be impossible to defeat. Naruto might have managed it, might, but he was being blocked from her and too far away to help. Her black haired husband dove, like a bullet, and Neji's scream tore through the forest again. Kami, no!

Sakura pulled herself up and with a one last breath to bolster her, shot towards them again. Her mind whirled, trying to strategize, trying to think of some way to defeat the semi-possessed thing that her raven-haired husband had become. Naruto had told Kakashi that he'd attacked Sasuke directly, that he'd been angry. Naruto's drunken ramblings didn't seem like much information, but Sakura needed to use what she had and as far as she knew, the jinchuuriki was one of the few people that had faced Sasuke this way and lived. Anger, Naruto had moaned, that anger made it worse. Sakura narrowed her eyes and wondered. It would be just like Naruto to begin something angry and end it in tears and just like Sasuke to use rage to fuel his own resolve. Maybe that was important, maybe if Sasuke's rage could be controlled then the hold the seal had on him would degrade and he would be able to fight against the dark impulses. Kakashi had once said something like that once, that Orochimaru's jutsu used feelings like wrath, sorrow and jealousy. He had also said that was why the spells were so destructive to their weilders.

Determined, Sakura pushed on through the trees. There was a clearing up ahead, she could sense it even without jutsu and the agonized sounds of pain and violence confirmed her suspsicion that Neji was in serious trouble. Sakura paused, just before the trees thinned, trying to get a view of what was happening. Rushing in without any preparation might get Neji killed and she had no idea if her mad little theory would work anyway.

"Stop! You would NEVER do this! Never!" Neji snarled, the sound of tearing clothing plain in the cold air.

Sakura felt her hackles rise and closed her eyes tight, trying to remain calm. So, the beast hiding in the shadows of her lover's spirit had matured along with Sasuke, perhaps even affected by the relationship they shared, and now something like this was a part of its agenda in addition to simple carnage. Logically, Sakura was not particularly surprised and the fact that the seal had been altered by Sasuke's hormones was probably the only reason Neji was still alive, something for which she was desperately grateful. She and Sasuke both led very erotic lives; being married to Naruto made sexuality was almost a necessity, and she should not be surprised that the seal had absorbed some of the feeling and then perverted it. Perverting emotion was probably what the damn thing did. No, it was not surprising, but the girl was still violently ill as she heard Neji cry out in terror.

She vomited quietly, still undetected by either of them, and harsh acid burning her throat. The woman was so used to doing this silently, trying to keep her illness a secret from Sasuke and Naruto, that she retched with barely more than the edge of a whisper. Sasuke was saying something to Neji, something that made the Hyuuga fight him even more desperately. Time was running out. Sakura took another breath to calm her trembling hands, wiped her mouth, and carefully stood. Her men needed her, they were crying for help and nothing as unimportant as fear or revulsion was going to prevent her from going to them. With another deep breath, the girl walked into the clearing.

Neji was on his knees in the bloody shreds of his clothing, upper body pressed savagely into the snow as Sasuke crouched over his back, biting deeply into the muscle of his shoulder. The monster flared his wings, using his weight to move Neji into a slightly different position, one Sakura was all too familiar with. Kami! She barely managed to keep from screaming as she watched her husband prepare to rape the man she had also come to love. There was blood everywhere and Sakura knew that it had to be Neji's. Sasuke hissed in some awful semblance of a laugh, and shoved the Hyuuga's legs apart. Neji fought him, but Sakura could see that the blood loss was making him weak, another few moments and something would be done that could never be undone between them. The matriarch of the Uzumaki household clenched her hands into fists, and spoke as softly and calmly as she could.

"Baby…What are you doing?" She whispered, voice drifting like a vapor towards where the two men struggled.

"Sakura!?" Neji shrieked, eyes wide with horror as he turned to face her.

Sasuke just hissed like a furious cobra, but stilled himself and that was more than enough response for now, at least he hadn't leapt up and taken her head off. Shakily, Sakura moved closer, moving slow, trying to make her posture calm and unthreatening. The kunoichi smiled as gently as she could with the terror still surging through her veins, bringing up all her most cherished memories of Sasuke to give her strength. The thing that was also her husband fluttered his wings and the gesture looked almost uncertain. Uncertain was better than instantaneous death and Sakura smiled a bit more, letting her relief at finding them both alive shine through her face as much as she could.

"Want to play too, bitch?" Sasuke snarled, licking his sharpened teeth.

"No! Sakura, get out of here!" Neji shrieked and Sakura fought not to flinch as Sasuke punched him mercilessly in the gut.

"It's okay Sasuke, I'm here now. Everything is going to be okay." Sakura said, a tear trailing down her face despite the effort to stop it.

Sasuke glared at her, his eyes an unholy shade of yellow within the darkened sockets, and drew back his lips as if to hiss again. She moved a little closer and the sound died meekly in his throat without ever fully being formed. She met his gaze fearlessly, forcing her shoulders to relax and her hands to move smoothly as she brushed the hair from her face. Sasuke's eyes widened with surprise despite the glistening malice glowing in their depths. Neji was still coughing miserably and the wet sound of his breathing told Sakura that the Hyuuga's ribs had been badly broken at some point, puncturing his lung. Pneumothorax was an injury that could be rapidly fatal. Nonetheless, she had to ignore him for now, any breach of focus and Sasuke would kill them both.

"You want to ssstop me! Naruto sssent you, his whore!" Sasuke accused, face twisting with rage.

"No honey. I can't stop you and Naruto doesn't know that you're here. I just want to be with you…" Sakura said softly.

"Liessss! You don't want to! How…how could you ever want that after…after…?" He trailed off, slowly removing his claws from Neji's quivering flesh.

"Because I love you." Sakura whispered, moving a fraction closer still.

"Sakura no! He'll kill you!" Neji wailed, sobbing into the snow.

"I trust you Sasuke." Sakura said, moving slowly, intentionally.

The girl slowly undid the belt of her kimono, letting her hands move around the knot in big obvious movements, making sure Sasuke was watching and that he realized she was not preparing to fight. She could have taken the weapons out of her sleeves and laid them before him, but then the gesture would look too much like surrender, and that was not her intention. The monster's face was guarded, but softened, no longer contorted into a mask of rage and pain. He looked more like the Sasuke she knew and loved and the change gave her a little hope. The girl chuckled a bit at the thought. As sick as it was, she really loved both of them and probably had all along. She loved Sasuke the man for the unattainable grace and perfection of skill he wielded so effortlessly and the other, the ugly thing inside, because it was something imperfect and damaged that she could fix. He watched her eyes, wings twitching nervously. Sakura smiled and gestured a little so that his eyes flicked lower to her hands, watching as the silk opened.

"Sakura…what are you doing?" Neji whispered, the horror plain in his voice, hands shaking.

"I'm here to be with you, Sasuke. I love you…" Sakura whispered, slowly shrugging out of the padded silk of her heavy outer kimono.

"Foolish female, you ssstupid little idiot…" Sasuke snarled, breathing hard.

"I'm stupid, but I'm here and I love you." Sakura said, smiling as if he had just paid her a compliment. She was used to ignoring his words.

"I'll kill you…" He snarled, raising his wings.

"If you must. I'll love you anyway." Sakura murmured, shivering as she let her house kimono fall to the ground as well.

The kunoichi slowly undressed, peeling her way out of the many layers of silk she had become accustomed to wearing since the weather changed, humming a little under her breath when the tension grew too thick. Neji had the good sense to keep as quiet and still as he could, silver eyes glued to her just as surely as Sasuke's were. Her beloved murderer watched motionlessly, eyes fixed to her movements the way a snake would watch its prey, the gaze cold and analytical and filled with nothing she could recognize as affection. Sakura was not intimidated. No matter how he looked, it was still Sasuke standing there before her and she was undressing for her husband the way she had a thousand times before, smiling as his gaze roved over her body.

"Sssstupid bitch! H…How can you…?" Sasuke asked, something small and broken in his voice when before there was only hate.

"I trust you." Sakura said again, cheeks flushing despite the risk.

"Trust…?" Sasuke echoed quietly, wings fluttering in agitation.

"Yes." Sakura smiled.

She untied the hidden laces of her inner kimono, standing before him in only her underclothes. Sasuke slowly stood, spreading his wings for balance and idly licking the blood from his claws. Sakura could see the predator in him as he moved slowly away from where Neji was still bleeding generously into the snow, movements tentative, but smooth and intentional as well. He was stalking her and the realization was like ice-water down her spine, but Sakura refused to acknowledge the fear. A heartbeat passed and Neji collapsed fully onto his belly with a pained whimper. Sakura unhooked the clasps of her bra, letting it fall into the drifts as well, and began to slowly peel her arm covers off. The wind was freezing and she fought not to shiver as gooseflesh rose over her skin and her bare feet ached in the cold snow. Sakura felt exposed this way, especially with her body so swollen and clumsy with her pregnancy, but the way Sasuke's eyes smoldered left no doubt in her mind that the gesture had made an impact.

"Ssssakura?" He whispered, reaching a tentative hand out to her.

"Yes, love. I'm here." Sakura said, laughing with relief that he was human enough to use her name.

"You brought our baby…" He mused.

"I had to, love." Sakura chuckled.

"I could kill it." He hissed, baring white fangs still coated with Neji's blood. She smiled and shook her head.

"I know you won't." Sakura replied gently, "I know how much you love her."

"You don't know anything about me!" Sasuke roared, but Sakura ignored him.

The girl slipped her panties off, standing fully nude with her arms extended, knowing that Sasuke was just as likely to kill her and their child as he was to come back to his senses. The risk didn't matter. The life they shared, the family, the happiness they had achieved was about all of them. No one was going to be left behind, not now or ever, and if he killed her at least they could all be together again. With a hungry little sigh Sasuke flapped his wings, the booming wind of them blinding her for a moment, and then he was staring down into her eyes close enough for Sakura to feel the sucking chill of his flesh. The girl gasped, but did not flinch away. The manic gold of his gaze was surging with both darkness and doubt, searching her own almost desperately for some hint of deception. He wouldn't find it. The snow and wind of his passing roared around them, but Sakura closed her eyes to the maelstrom, reaching her arms around his neck. She stood on her toes, pulling him to her even as his deadly talons played over the vulnerable skin of her belly.

"I trust you." She whispered.

OoOoOoO

Neji was not sure what he was seeing and half wondered if he had already died and was being treated to the psychotic melodrama of his own dying brain waves. If he was dying, he never would have imagined that the process could hurt so much. His broken arm was excruciating, the fracture site sending mind shattering surges of fiery pain lancing through the bones even when he held still; nothing like the deep pain he had experienced with broken bones before. The Hyuuga's chest felt like it was filled with scorching flame, his shattered ribs aching and also somehow moving with every breath he managed to take. Neji's skin itched and tingled and the right side of his face felt singed, smoldering with radiant agony as if salt had been ground into the wounds Sasuke had made against his cheek. Every ounce of self-control the Hyuuga had was devoted to merely keeping silent as his flesh raged. All he could do was watch as Sasuke lunged for Sakura and wrapped her in his wings.

He closed his eyes tightly, waiting for the scream, waiting for the monster Sasuke had become to tear their woman apart. One breath, two and Neji couldn't bear the thought of what might happening any longer. Watching was useless, they were all going to die, but the Hyuuga opened his eyes anyway. The clearing was quiet except for a pleased sigh, the snow slowly settling back onto the ground in glistening eddies. The new drifts obscured his vision, but the Hyuuga did not sense motion with the Byukugan and Sakura's chakra was still glowing vividly against the backdrop of Sasuke's surging energy. Neji released the jutsu and grunted softly, rising painfully onto his elbow to look, knowing that the only thing waiting for him might be Sakura's devastated corpse. His eyes widened, hope aching fiercely in his chest at the spectacle unfolding before him.

Sakura was kissing Sasuke passionately, wrapped in his wings as if in a cloak, her cheeks shining with tears and moist lips red with life against the demon's blackened maw. Sasuke was holding her there, under his wings, holding her tenderly instead of ripping her body apart. Neji's mouth fell open in awe, there was nothing even aggressive or deceptive in his posture! Instead, the monster was kissing her like Sakura was precious air and he had been held, chained under the water for too long, his black lips desperate and worshipful. The girl ran her hands over Sasuke's face, brushing the navy hair up and behind his ears as she had with Neji's own hair so many times before, the gesture smooth and reflexive even though Sasuke had never worn his mane so long. Even wracked with pain and exhaustion, the Hyuuga shivered as the memory of her hands against his own cheek rose with delicious clarity. Her chipped nails were ragged and bloody, but the roughness detracted nothing from the slender grace of her strong fingers, a healer's fingers that Neji knew too well. He could almost feel where she had touched him, cupped her hands around his damaged heart, stopping the bleeding.

The woman tipped her head back, leaning into the strength of Sasuke's wings as if he had always had them, as if even like this she knew him. The smooth, ivory column of her throat was beautiful, leading Neji's eyes naturally to the womanly swell of her breasts just hidden by Sasuke's shoulders. They moved like dancers, Sasuke spinning her against his chest and hugging her close, wrapping his arms beneath her breasts and raising his wings. Sakura moved easily with him, her blushing face radiant, green eyes soft with pleasure and affection. The soft globes of her voluptuous chest rested easily on top of Sasuke's grey forearm, the cherry blush of her nipples emphasized by the way he supported the plump flesh. Sakura gasped, arching her back against him as she inhaled, and her breasts rising enticingly with the air. The girl trembled, moaning delicately as Sasuke moved to cup her right in his hand, the soft pallor of the feminine flesh stark against his blackened talons. Neji held his breath.

Sasuke moved his other hand lower, claws skimming over Sakura's swollen abdomen and farther to delve into the scarlet curls decorating her vulva, spreading her legs as he went. Fearlessly, the girl reached behind them, tugging on the claw of his wing and Neji wondered again if all of it was some kind of dream. Sasuke hissed, but the sound was one of pleasure and affection instead of violence and pain. He knelt, carrying her effortlessly down with him, spreading Sakura's pale thighs over his own. The muscles of her legs rippled, the pale skin ruddy with both pleasure and the cold as Sasuke ran his hands over her breasts. The demonic creature that Sasuke had become yanked at the ornament in her hair, and Sakura's glittering pink mane fell free over her silken shoulders in mauve waves, the stuff of dreams, but to sudden to be a fantasy. The raven gathered the glistening tresses into his hands and pressed her hair eagerly to his nose, inhaling with a soft sound of appreciation. Neji closed his eyes, the memory of her delicate floral fragrance as powerful as the scent of incense in a temple and just as sacred. Sasuke moaned, the sound almost pained, and moved to encircle the delicate slimness of her left ankle in his deadly hand.

Neji tensed, but he only pulled her leg back against his thigh, easing the angle as Sakura shifted herself against him. She rose onto her knees for a moment, crying out erotically, and then Neji knew that Sasuke was inside her. Sakura's breasts jiggled as she moved, one hand clutching her own belly as if the movement was uncomfortable, but nonetheless spearing herself eagerly onto Sasuke's erection. Sasuke relaxed with her, sinking again to the ground as if in adoration, pressing kisses to her shoulders and hair. They drifted against the snow, his hips moving gently against her soft flesh.

Sasuke was not hurting her, far from it. They were making love and the very idea was some kind of miracle, though not the kind people usually talked about, not the kind that Neji had ever thought he would witness. Still, Neji supposed that it was the sort of miracle Sakura Haruno created, the kind that saved lives. She had saved him again, she always saved him. It wasn't fair, Neji didn't deserve her mercy or her love. He didn't even deserve to keep watching them, to intrude on something so unbearably divine, but he was too amazed, to grateful to look away for even a moment. Hot tears, different from the frozen sobbing he'd done before, fell from his eyes to run in unheeded torrents over his bloody face. It was selfish, horribly so, but for the moment the Hyuuga allowed himself to believe what he was seeing could actually be real.

She was gorgeous, tender, rosy mouth slightly open, the muscular lines of her shoulders perfectly arranged to display her beautiful neck. Sai treated her like a god and maybe the emotionless nin was right. Maybe she was more than just a woman, but a deity sent from heaven just for them…watching her now, Neji would have certainly believed it. Sakura moaned, flexing back against Sasuke's body, thighs pressing close against where his probing fingers stroked the dewy folds of her intimate body. Neji could practically taste her, the warmth of her climax salty and rich against his tongue even in memory. Pleasure rang through his blood like hot sake, just watching them enough to fill his veins with fire, and suddenly he was hard as well. Neji shuddered as something snapped and cracked in his broken wrist, crying out as the bone moved of its own accord, only to discover that he could move his fingers.

Sakura cried out, the slender muscles of her arms tightening as she held Sasuke tight against her back, slender waist a delicate curve against the twitching muscle of his chest. With a long moan, Sasuke flexed his wings and wrapped them tightly around her again, clothing her with the thick membranes as tenderly as Naruto would have held her in his arms, the wicked talons resting harmlessly against her blushing skin. The moved as one, crying out together as she came, and the surge of joy flooding through Neji's body with her climax was enough to make him gasp. Sakura's hair was wound around Sasuke's claws and as he watched, the blackened blades began to fade, merging back and way into recognizeably human hands. Neji inhaled suddenly and the movement of the air driven into his body shifted something deep in his chest, snapping his fractured ribs back into place. He screamed, but the roaring agony was dulled as quickly as it came with the flood of ecstasy warming his ravaged flesh. The Hyuuga moaned, eyes glued to where Sasuke's skin was slowly beginning to lighten and smooth, the color returning to him even as Sakura writhed in his lap. His wings seemed to soften, the horrible claws growing smooth and dull as they shrank away.

Neji gasped, the itching on his shoulder and face increasing and he moved to touch the skin only to realize that he was no longer bleeding, that the jagged tears in his right arm had closed. Slowly, the dark blue receded from Sasuke's hair, leaving only midnight black behind. The once-Uchiha moaned and thrust hard into Sakura, his amber eyes glowing red for a moment and then ebony as he moved into the intimate embrace of his wife. The porcelain color was returning to his skin, the grey nearly extinguished, and the wings receded like wilting leaves, crumpling back into his spine as if they had never existed at all.

Watching them, watching Sakura drive the evil out of him with her love, was like watching the sun rise after an eternity of darkness. Neji wept and moaned, writhing helplessly in the snow as the power moved through his body, healing his injuries and filling him with heat. The feeling was like when Naruto was taking him, overwhelming pleasure and scorching pain wound together into a single experience, but even more encompassing. Sakura cried out, her voice shrill with desire, echoed by Sasuke's deeper groan. Neji could hear the edge of release in their voices and the aching pleasure of impending climax moved through him as well. Sasuke was a man again, the monster vanquished, the blood smeared over his skin and Sakura's the only evidence that it had ever existed at all. When release came for the tangled lovers Neji was swept away with the ecstasy as well, bonded to them inexplicably, one being through the grace of powers he barely understood.

OoOoOoO

Sai throbbed, his whole being stretching to accommodate the new feeling, unable to focus. Naruto's lips were hot on his ear, saying something, probably coaching and guiding as if all of this was just the same as any other exercise, but the meaning of the words was lost in the cresting pleasure and the beating of Sai's own heart. Just the cadence of his voice was arousing enough to make Sai tremble. Naruto moved inside his body and there was pain, heavy and deep, but nothing like the visceral agony of being beaten or stabbed as he had imagined there would be. No, this pain was intricate and somehow luxuriant, like muscles cramped in the cold being kneaded loose. He gasped. His blood felt like flame, but denser, each stroke of Naruto's hands sending piercing warmth through every inch of his flesh. Sai moaned, the sound like the feeling in his body, irresistible and instinctual. The artist had long stopped noticing what he sounded like.

Naruto echoed the cry, sounding fiercer as he pushed deep and then letting the sound settle back into a cozy purr even as he bit into the trembling flesh of Sai's buttock. The shock of the jinchuuriki's teeth was almost enough to send Sai over the precipice again, to force his already weeping cock to cum once more. Little time had passed, but the artist knew from the tightness in his belly that he could, that he could ejaculate again as easily as he had before. Sai was learning the cues of his body well enough to tell about this and other things, to wonder how Naruto had managed to wait so long. The jinchuuriki's skin was flushed and glistening, his penis dark red and very hard, obviously badly aroused. He waited though and Sai loved him even more for it because he desperately wanted Naruto to come in him, to feel the intimate warmth burn away everything else.

Sai had already climaxed once into Naruto's mouth and the memory alone was enough to make him groan with the visceral desire to release again. The searing blue of Naruto's eyes, heavy and replete with passion, and the tiny glob of the white semen sticking to the blond's cheek as he licked his lips was probably the most emotionally charged memory Sai had. He liked seeing his own fluids on Naruto's skin and wondered what the blond might have looked like if he hadn't swallowed any of it at all, if the white was painted onto his skin, what Sasuke or Neji might look like in the same condition. He shivered, unsure if he liked the idea or if the image actually terrified him.

Things like desire and fear were difficult to distinguish in Naruto's arms, similar to the pain that also felt good and the surrender that was also like freedom. Complex, Shino had said life would be complex, and it was. Loving Naruto and Sakura and Sasuke was only like painting in its intensity, the true character of the feeling was more like weaving a tapestry, an endeavor with a thousand parts and all vital. Sai did not know how to weave and he didn't know how to make love either, but for some reason it didn't matter. The others moved and he could follow as if they pulled him in their gravity into each step of the dance. Even so, Naruto himself was so vast, so hot, that it was easy to believe the he was all there was in the universe, that everything was actually brutally simple.

Sai panted, licking his tingling lips as Naruto pushed the four fingers lingering at the edge of his entrance fully into his body. He whimpered a little, belly twitching. Four was alot, Naruto even said so, but if Sai could handle it then true sex should not seem like too much of a shock and that would hopefully make the thrall easier too. The fingers felt big too, as if he was stretched thin and delicate like a dumpling wrapper, body soft and tender with the burden. Still, the fullness and the ache were pleasing too and Sai hadn't lost his erection when Naruto added the last of them. Sai was filled with Naruto, but it was good and his testicles were tight and heavy with the pleasure of the ache as much as the scorching touch of the jinchuuriki's hand on his sex.

Naruto sighed and removed his hand, gently correcting Sai's posture so that the artist's chest was fully pressed against the sheets and his hips were supported by the stack of pillows the jinchuuriki had somehow assembled when he wasn't watching. Sai moaned, already aroused by the position alone. Sakura had taught him to associate the feeling of being bent, being spread open, with pleasure instead of fear and as Naruto parted his buttocks a sharp spark of desire raced through his flesh.

"Beautiful…" The jinchuuriki breathed, kissing the intimate flesh.

"Ahh! Feels good…so good…" Sai panted, enjoying the poignant shock of Naruto's lips against the sensitive skin.

"I…I can't wait…" Naruto groaned, clawed hands tightening on Sai's hip.

"No waiting…come…come inside." The artist whispered, shivering as Naruto kissed him again.

There was a heartbeat and then Naruto was brushing the slickened head of his arousal against the oily softness of Sai's most intimate body. The artist cried out, mind freshly blank from the sensation. The crown of it was bigger than anything he had taken before, but more flexible as well and soon he was thrusting back against him mindlessly. Naruto groaned and held himself against Sai, letting the more inexperienced nin determine the pace and pressure of their contact. With a breathless little huff, Sai forced his hips back slowly, pushing against the tip of his alpha's arousal until it entered his body for the first time. He shuddered, the sensation more than just physical, the heat crawling like flame over his skin as Naruto stroked him with his claws.

Naruto moved, holding him firm and uncompromising, and pressing in. He struggled a little, the fear finally creeping through the cracks in the fortress of pleasure Naruto had built for him, icy tendrils reaching to squeeze his heart. Fear was useless and Sai tried to let it move through him like water, tried to relax as the blond breached him. Naruto moaned and the sound ended in something like a snarl as he pushed in a single, smooth motion into Sai's inexperienced body. Too much, too fast and he could not quite adjust. Sakura had said over and over to relax, that if he contracted his muscles the sex would hurt and Sai knew that she was right, he had felt it before. Still, the fear came again and this time the ink nin tensed his body in reflexive response.

The agony of bruised muscles and the quaking pleasure of places deep within being stretched and stroked was instantaneous, ringing dissonantly through his flesh like electricity. Sai shrieked as the tearing pain shook him, his body stretching past where he had before, tender flesh filled beyond his experience and contracting in shaking spasm. Naruto's hand was still holding Sai's penis, the warmth and stimulation of it keeping him hard even as black spots danced before the artist's vision. His arms trembled and gave beneath his weight, suddenly forcing Naruto even more fully into his body. Sai moaned and the sound came out more like a whimper. There was pleasure, warmth and stabbing delight as Naruto found the electric place within and thrust against it. Pleasure colliding with the pain, too closely aligned to isolate. He moved, striking the ink nin's prostate more fully than ever before, pounding white hot pleasure through Sai's nerves.

The artist screamed, the blindingly hot ecstasy chasing the agony in a ringing cacophony of feeling that radiated up his spine. The pain was too visceral to ignore, like nothing he had ever experienced, roaring in his ears like a waterfall and the pleasure just as intense. Naruto's hands against his body were so sure, the claws sinking deeply into the flesh to hold more firmly, and the pain of it was too distant for Sai to fully acknowledge or even interpret correctly. All feelings merged together in twisting ecstasy, tightening Sai's belly and burning in his blood, the surging emotion clarified in the searing, refractory prism of Naruto's lovemaking. The intensity of every sensation was more refined somehow, more pure. Cold sweat erupted over his flesh, more than before, and volcanic pleasure crested even as the artist wondered if he might be torn apart. Not that he cared. Death was a small price to pay to feel this way, to feel so totally maddened by love, to feel Naruto and the others in every tingling nerve of his body. They were one.

Sai came, releasing helplessly in milky arches over his alpha's fingers, shrieking with the kind of abandon he had only felt in battle. He came, his body releasing as Sakura said it should, but the swirling ecstasy did not ebb. Instead, pleasure grew and changed character, pressing heavy against his nerves and hot. Naruto growled against his shoulder, biting roughly into the muscle and holding his body with granite strength as he thrust deeper into Sai's shaking flesh. The ecstasy heaved within him, more than human and certainly more than mere sex, as encompassing as darkness and as elemental as air. So much, Kami! Sai opened himself eagerly, accepting the pressing joy, but suddenly the breach was not just in his body. He gasped. The old thing, frozen with rust and pain, was rising in his mind. The memories, brittle and horrible and fractured by time, finally cracked and broke open into his awareness under the onslaught. Sai cried out, terrified, as the sharp edges of his secret shredded its way through his consciousness. He was reacting, thoughtlessly and to something that he no longer even knew how to understand, the forgotten emotion shattering his defenses and surging into the forefront of his cognizance. Naruto was snarling, eyes fully scarlet and moving with the mindless intensity of possession, fangs long and deadly against his spine. The artist moaned and an instinct rise in him, the feeling a bit like fighting, but worse and too familiar.

Sai screamed as the heady rush of something he had forgotten how to feel vibrated through his flesh, reacting explosively to the sex, the freed energy sparking within him even as his body struggled to cum again. The ecstatic pressure grew, crushing against his senses, too alien. The character of the energy pounding into him was no longer just Naruto either, but something infinitely more vast and shockingly alien, hot with the pleasure and scorching where it touched. The elemental fire of Kyuubi.

The urge to struggle, to reject the foreign presence was strong, but Sai ignored it and tried to relax and let it come. Sasuke had told him that this would happen, that it was important not to fight at all, and Sai would not let the edges of…of his old hate cut Naruto too. There was just too much! His mind spun, filled with images, chest tight and filled with too much sensation. It was too much feeling to interpret, too much clashing passion to control, too sharp to hold the slashing edges back. Sai snarled and the sound caught on his teeth as they grew and sharpened in his gums at the thought of Naruto beneath him, moaning and submissive, his to…to what? Sai didn't know what he wanted, what the urge meant. Slender claws tore at the sheets as Sai fisted his hands, struggling for control as the turmoil raged, trying not to fight the boiling energy gushing into his body. He loved Naruto and the craving to…to own him was nothing gentle or kind, something he had to resist. With great effort the ink nin stilled, shivering as blood ran from Naruto's teeth to drip over his shoulder and the demon chakra began to fully push against his own, filling the meridians. The jinchuuriki undulated against his back and moaned, the sound vibrating through the bones of his shoulder and up into his teeth, too much dominance to ignore.

Too far, there was no going back and he felt too much of wanting and taking and desire to hold onto his own control, not when the perception was too unfamiliar. Sai snarled, baring his teeth as he met the glowing red of Naruto's eyes over his shoulder. The jinchuuriki snarled back, shoving his head down against the bedding. The energy surged and memories came with it, filling his mind with images of darkness filled with blood and a cage much too small for both of them. She screamed as the spears bit into her flesh, long claws wrapped around him so that Sai couldn't see, holding him long after her heartbeat had failed and the scent of ink grew stale. Anger, rage, filled him along with the scintillating fantasy of Naruto with his semen on his face, something he had never even been able to fully imagine before. Fire surged into his chest and exploded in sizzling arches around his heart, stealing the emotion and amplifying it, spinning out of his control. Sai couldn't breathe, his heart pounding too hard, lungs crushed and screaming for air.

He gasped, eyes open and seeing nothing, vision bleeding electric blue. Naruto was holding him down, down, too hard, too dominant! Sai hissed savagely, tensing his body as the tips of his ears sharpened and grew, the rumbling warning Naruto snarled into his ear becoming too acute for comfort. Sound hurt and the lights were too bright. He hissed, the sound aggressive and filled with arousal as well. Sai was hard again and he wanted Naruto, wanted to keep him, and paint him in his scent. The awakening feelings tangled with the lust Naruto was kindling within him and tore, ripping apart like silk threads wound too tightly, leaving only instinct behind. Sai moved against him, lost in the vision, as the tendrils of Kyuubi's demon chakra bled inexorably into his own. He snarled, baring his newly razor-sharpened teeth in challenge, and Naruto met the noise with one of his own.

The energy bucked, spinning wildly, and there was pain. More than pain, there was agony, the tearing of souls. Naruto screamed and his chakra pushed again, bruising against Sai's searing meridians, demanding entrance. Sai allowed his own energy to seep along the burning paths carved by the claiming, mad with desire and the urge to make Naruto his own, to possess him forever. Chakra burned and twisted, melding and shredding itself apart at the same time, rapids in the river of chi. Pain, pain beyond imagination surged through his body and Naruto was screaming as well. Sai twisted, throwing the jinchuuriki onto his back beneath him, holding his head down tight even as Naruto shrieked and the sound tore into his psyche. Naruto snapped his teeth and Sai tightened his claws against the other's throat, moving against him, oblivious to anything but the addictive sensation of the jinchuuriki struggling beneath him. Having him this way felt like winning, felt like victory, but awful too. The blond demon thrashed in panic and something was horribly, horribly wrong, but Sai could only see the blue and smell the fear on Naruto's skin. There shouldn't be any fear, he knew there shouldn't be, he knew it and the realization that his lover was terrified and hurting speared through him. He couldn't do this! It wasn't what he wanted! Sai tried to pull away, the effort enough to tear a pained yelp from his throat, but before he could everything went white…

OoOoOoO

Kiba did not have the preternatural sight afforded by the Byukugan, but he knew the moment Naruto's shielding failed by way Hiashi's troops stiffened, readying for battle even before the order was called. He took a breath as Akamaru whined in agitation beneath him. Silence fell onto the landscape and Kiba wondered if the birds and animals felt the protective energy of their refuge dissolving as acutely as he did. Kiba took a breath, feeling edgy, wondering is Sasuke in his infinite paranoia had decided to lay traps along the river. If he had, they would be walking directly into the teeth of the beast instead of dodging around its claws and without warning either. Fuck. Darkness was falling early due to the cloud cover and the dusky light would put Naruto at as much of a disadvantage as anything ever did, but that wouldn't save anybody. Seeing less well at dusk only meant that Naruto would rely on Sasuke and his cursed vision more, probably Neji as well. Even if he wanted to rejoin the Hyuuga forces, Neji could not refuse a direct order given with the thrall by his alpha. Yumi pulled another arrow from his quiver and set it between his teeth in readiness, suddenly perfectly still at Kiba's back. The others stilled too, activating their Byukugan, looking nervously out into the mists rimming Naruto's dark forests.

"Stop it. Everyone turn the Byukugan off except for Aki. We'll rotate or you'll all be fatigued before anything even starts." Kiba snapped softly to his troops.

"But…I need it to protect you Kiba-sama!" Yumi fussed, speech still shockingly clear around the arrow in his mouth.

"Humph, it ain't me who needs protecting kid. Besides, the use of a visual technique is exhausting and I need ya sharp." Kiba responded.

"Will Sasuke be exhausted as well?" Someone, probably Aki, whispered anxiously.

"No. He will not." Kiba said darkly.

Hiashi was saying something to the soldiers on the east flank, the true vanguard of this ridiculous little operation, probably trying to raise their morale or refining strategy. Whatever he was doing, he was doing it quietly, unlike Kiba's own green soldiers. Ninja battles were not like other wars. There were not really ranks, necessarily, or battle lines and winning meant killing the other party's leader as quickly and as quietly as possible. Yelling and raising a ruckus or even remaining in a group was not usually how ninja warfare was conducted and having his own people hold ranks when the rest of the army scattered was going to be difficult. Though responsive to their leaders, each soldier was usually afforded a measure of independence and the east flank would do whatever the situation indicated for victory, only taking instruction as needed. Only Kiba's troops had been ordered to mount a frontal offensive. It was a move that made sense if you didn't care how many people died. Hiashi would not waste his veterans attacking directly, and Kiba's boys were basically scheduled to die for the sake of what would ultimately serve as a distraction. He growled under his breath. No mere teenage distraction would be enough to kill Naruto, not unless Hiashi knew something he didn't, an eventuality that was growing more likely by the moment.

Something was up or Sasuke would have been bathing in their blood already. The shielding had come down minutes ago and Kiba knew from his snooping that none of Hiashi's previous teams had lasted that long without some kind of engagement. Sasuke was not a patient person and even Naruto would have reacted instantly to a threat so close to his offspring if he could have. They had been friends a long time and the one thing Kiba could be assured of regarding the jinchuuriki was that he would behave protectively, regardless of the circumstances. That wasn't usually a problem when dealing with him out in the field, a boon to whoever was lucky enough to run a mission with him, but in this the trait would only make him fiercer. Only a moron like Hiashi would decide to attack Naruto in his home territory with the man's family vulnerable and at his back, assuring that the jinchuuriki would throw everything at them and previous friendships be damned.

There was some unforeseen circumstance was keeping Naruto and his pack in those trees and off their tails for the time being, and it probably wasn't anything good. The Hyuuga clan excelled at deceit above anything else and Hiashi was nothing if not conniving in his beloved scheming. He had done something to Naruto, or at least knew when something that would make the jinchuuriki vulnerable was bound to happen so that he could take advantage of the momentary weakness. Neji was probably spying for him without even realizing it and that was low, even for Hiashi. Kiba huffed, scanning the terrain. The clan's talent for subterfuge was probably why the Byukugan was practically worshipped since lying was worthless with the technique, but without it anyone could be a victim of the same kind of trickery that the Hyuuga's used on everyone else. Of course, the delay could also mean that Sasuke had anticipated their attack all along and was just waiting to make use of his home terrain in order to butcher them all more efficiently.

The flag rose, the silver of it glistening duly in the failing light. Kiba raised his hand and gestured to his troops to advance. Yumi swallowed audibly. Using the gestures instead of speaking, Kiba ordered his boys onto their bellies in the tall grass even as Akamaru pressed himself closer to the ground as well. The snow made the going freezing and miserable, but a few fingers lost to frostbite would be worth it if they lived. They crawled forward, following Kiba's lead with Aki at the point to make best use of his Byukugan. The approach was silent and gradual, but Kiba knew that he might face fire from both sides the instant Hiashi realized he was not heading towards the mansion but further into the woods. He took a breath, letting the scent of the air soak fully into his awareness, smelling the mulch of the forest. They had made the edge of the forest, crawling smoothly on their bellies for nin accustomed to running through the trees and that was what would save them. Sasuke would be in the trees, looking for threats from ahead and above and as long as they kept sneaky-like, his boys might be able to pass around the subordinate's main defensive strike.

The snow was deeper here and Kiba motioned them to crawl into it instead of trying to stay above it. His boys took a breath before surging under the fluffy white cover and Kiba nearly chuckled. Kami they were fresh! He knew from experience that snow was not like water and that you could breathe decently tunneling underneath it so long as you didn't mind freezing to death. He also knew that the refractive quality of the snow made looking at it with something like the Sharingan or the Byukugan a total bitch. They crawled for an eternity and Kiba shut his eyes, letting Aki and his own nose lead. The forest was still dead silent.

Kiba patted Yumi on the leg, giving him the signal that they were about to change direction. The boy passed the touch along to the others and soon Aki moved to the right, veering off from their original path. Kiba held his breath. He could only hear muffled noises beneath the snow, but the low snarl Akamaru made told him that Hiashi had noticed their little maneuver.

"Crawl faster brats!" Kiba hissed.

"Hai!" Yumi whispered.

The boys picked up the pace, writhing under the snow like twenty desperately fleeing eels, just as the first volley of arrow struck around them from behind. Apparently Hiahsi had decided that it was better to kill his own kinsmen than take that chance that Kiba was going to try to defect. Not that he would, there was no point, but desertion…now that idea had appeal. Aki grunted as one of the whistling missiles grazed his thigh, but kept crawling anyway and Kiba was silently impressed with the boy's grit. So far no one had panicked and tried to stand up, which would have meant certain death.

"They're shooting! They're shooting at us!" Yumi gasped, appalled.

"Yeah…the trick is that they ain't hitting us." Kiba huffed as another arrow impacted a millimeter away from Akamaru's paw.

"They can't see us in the snow!" Aki hissed, his voice fierce with admiration.

"You got it." Kiba said, nudging his leg to urge a faster pace.

"Why? Why would they shoot us?" Someone asked, sounding scared.

"Because we aren't fighting in this boys. We aren't gonna be meat for Naruto's table tonight if I have anything to do about it." Kiba said sternly.

"But...we…we have to fight!" Someone else cried.

"Quiet!" Yumi hissed.

"My brothers are going to fight Naruto! We have to go too!"

"Your brothers are going to die, Tohru."

"Kiba-sama knows what he's doing!" Yumi snapped.

"Hiashi doesn't care if we die, you saw the plan and it's suicide!"

"I don't want to die!"

Kiba let them whisper, focused more on keeping everyone low and moving. Aki was whimpering quietly and he could smell the blood seeping from the boy's leg, but the snow was getting deeper and Hiashi's aim was getting worse. Yumi was beginning to shiver, pressing closer against his back for warmth on sheer instinct. Someone sneezed. Kiba knew that they weren't dressed for this, but they would just have to put up with the cold, it was only going to get colder as the sun set and they still had a long way to go. Once they hit the ravine, they could move faster, but that was still several kilometers away. Another set of arrows hit with a series of thunking hisses, far off too the right and not anywhere close to their actual position. Kiba smirked. Hiahsi could go fuck himself.

"Kiba-sama, where are we going?" Yumi asked quietly.

"To the river and from there we'll following it out of Naruto's territory to the Inuzuka compound." Kiba said.

"What! We're just running away!" Someone whispered angrily.

"Tactical withdrawl." Kiba muttered.

"Just shutup, Tohru! Do you want to live?" Aki snarled.

"I'm not a coward! I want to fight!" The other voice, ostensibly Tohru, hissed.

"It isn't gonna be fighting today, it's gonna be slaughter." Kiba said quietly.

"We are trained, we can fight." Yumi argued softly.

"Oh and we will, we will. Don't worry about that," Kiba chuckled darkly, "There's gonna be lots of fighting boys, just not today and not against Naruto."

"Then…?" Yumi murmured.

"You follow my bark from now on, right brats?" Kiba called.

"Yes sir!" They hissed just as the scent of fresh blood filled Kiba's nose.

Chapter 22: Chapter 22  
So again, a longer wait than I would have liked, but hopefully worth the anticipation! I want to thank BallofFluf sincerely from the deepest place in my writer's heart. I was really, seriously worried than no one liked that chapter! Thank you SO much for reviewing! I also want to thank Maejirase whose reviews never failed to inspire me! You're pure awesome and that is all. Thanks to David999, it's so good to hear from you again! Thank you to Lonely Athena and, of course, Riku. Glad you guys are reading, it's a privilege to write for you! To Lily Evans Potter, I think this chapter will explain a lot about Sai and I hope it was worth the wait! Thanks as always to Fietkashi for the enthusiasm and wonderful kindness and also to Toramonger and Elhan. You guys are the reason I keep writing when I should be sleeping and I wouldn't have it any other way. As for Guest, all your reviews are really angry…but you keep reading my book so I can only assume there is something about it you like? Very mysterious. At any rate, enjoy!

The near immortal abilities of a jinchuuriki's subordinates, especially one newly claimed, have intrigued scholars for centuries. Many wonder if such unfathomable power may one day be harnessed for use by people on other people, but I maintain that no such eventuality will come to pass in the foreseeable future. The reason is simply that a subordinate, though appearing to the casual observer as an individual, is no longer really a lone being. A jinchuuriki's subordinate is more like an extension of a greater creature, a limb as it were that happens to be physically separate, but very much dependent upon the rest of the body. It is this separateness that has confounded other academics, but in truth a subordinate nearly shares a soul with their alpha and even the physical distance which may exist between them is relatively inconsequential. Subordinates have been noted to have a detailed sense of their alpha's intentions, even with thousands of miles between them, long after the ability to sense one another's emotion has faded with distance. Though it is uncommon for them to realize where the intuition originates, a jinchuuriki's subordinates are capable of astounding feats of organization and synchrony of behavior. Even something as complex as the staging of a coordinated attack in geometric formation has been carried out by a jinchuuriki and his subordinates, all without any form of sensible communication. There have been significant historical examples of an alpha losing sensation and motor control in a limb following the death of a subordinate, but they are few. Ironically, it seems the demon vessels are more likely to perish than the humans under their thrall, though few subordinates survive the death of their alpha and none without some noticeable cognitive deficit. Many believe that besides rare instances of dismemberment and decapitation, a new subordinate cannot be killed without killing the jinchuuriki itself.

-Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons

Naruto screamed as a fresh rush of agony seared through his brain, fire in his blood, burning everything to ashes. It hurt, everything and everywhere, Naruto's awareness filled with only pain and the inescapable feeling of drowning. His body was being overrun, besieged by the alien chakra crawling through the bridge between his and Sai's joined spirits, energy that he could neither accept nor escape. Sai was pushing, pushing into him, the very touch of his energy excruciating like the effervescent violence of dry ice pressed against flame. The artist moved, holding Naruto down with the crushing weight of his chakra as much as his body, pressing his lips to the tingling numbness of the jinchuuriki's skin. The energy sparked and spun, tearing through his quivering meridians and in its wake there was only pain, the surging explosion of boiling vapor igniting in his chi as the lovemaking threatened to tear them both apart. The feel of it was beyond even Naruto's comprehension, the searing, molecular pain of elements colliding and energies being released only to tangle and shred one another apart. Sai hissed, the sound barely human and filled with both determination and some deeper emotion that Naruto could not name…a feeling closer to desire, but infinitely more vicious. The jinchuuriki struggled, delving deeper, trying to escape the hurt so that he could at least think clearly. He needed to think, think calmly and logically, strategize enough to find a way out of this that would not mean killing both of them.

Naruto gasped for air, the terror of being caught and trapped palpable, like thorns caught up in his lungs and just as sharp. Kami, he was afraid, more afraid than he had ever been before and the spearing alarm made him want to fight, to wrench back control from Sai and subdue him instead. Aggression was reflexive, raw animal instinct, but Naruto knew that they were already tangled too tightly together for something so simple to be a viable option. If he just kept trying to resist the energy, if he kept fighting to push Sai out, the artist would only feel more instinctive pressure to advance. Such was the nature of their interaction and even if Naruto had no idea why claiming Sai had turned into some kind of spiritual tsunami, he knew better than anyone what it felt like to be faced with resistance and the urge to push past it.

Naruto shut his eyes and tried to focus. The urge to fight, to regain control and kill any potential threats, was as tempting as scalding sake and a thousand times more dangerous. He needed space, just a breath, a moment to think about something other than the pain and the fear of someone else inside his chakra. Whimpering, Naruto pushed against the cage of Sai's arms, praying that the artist would be able to think clearly enough to understand what he needed. Sai snarled, closing his teeth around Naruto's throat, the keen sharpness of the artist's fangs against his pulse ringing like warning bells through the jinchuuriki's overheated brain. Sasuke was right, damn him, and the sheer panic of being held so tightly and taken this way was shredding Naruto's self-control and with it any chance they had of survival. Sai had pulled back a fraction some moments ago and if he hadn't they would both have died already, but Naruto's very essence rebelled at having Sai surging in his meridians in the first place. They had to find balance, a way to coexist in the same body, or he and his precious lover would both die.

"Kit! Kit we are dying! We cannot sustain this and survive!" Kyuubi snarled, its voice muffled by the roaring energy flooding Naruto's awareness.

"We'll survive. He'll pull back enough for us to adjust. Just hang on." Naruto replied inside the chaos of his own mind, eyelids fluttering.

"Our body, kit! Our body is dying!" Kyuubi howled.

"We aren't dying, not yet. We just need to let it come…we just need a little time…" Naruto explained, sobbing in his own head, nearly overwhelmed.

"Let it come? Let it COME!? His energy is trying to come INTO us and there isn't any room, kit! Your stupid human body cannot handle it!"

"No…room?" Naruto asked, feeling addled.

He retreated, diving deeper within and away from the poisonous lightning of Sai's invading energy, trying to hold onto Kyuubi's voice and what the demon was trying to say. Kyuubi was old and he knew about things like this, at least better than Naruto did, if he could just reach the Fox then the demon might be able to help him. The pain was incredible, searing wherever Sai's energy touched, burning and chilly at the same time. Kyuubi screamed, the sound desperate and strident, vibrating through Naruto's spirit the way Sai's hissing was ringing in his skull. Naruto focused himself towards the demon, reaching for the Fox, letting his terror flood through the bond. Sai's energy faltered, sizzling and swirling in maddened eddies, trying to change direction. Naruto gasped. Sai had heard him, even so deep, he heard him! The artist was trying to pull back, trying urgently to give Naruto enough room to maneuver and regain his balance, enough time to adjust to his presence. With a shriek, Sai released his throat and opened up the space between them.

"Is the problem that we don't have enough room?" Naruto asked the Kyuubi, his mind finally beginning to clear.

"No! The problem is that you decided to lay with a fucking HANYOU! Idiot child! You've killed us all!" Kyuubi roared.

"A what?" Naruto asked.

"You're little toy is a fucking HALF-DEMON and he's trying to put us under HIS thrall! You have to fight him Naruto!" The great Fox wailed.

"I can't! He'll die!" Naruto shouted, pressing closer to the Fox as Sai's energy roared towards them again.

"Fight him or we'll ALL die! He's trying to claim us and…and we have no WAY for him to do it even if you wanted to be his bitch for eternity!" Kyuubi snarled with a surge of elemental flame.

The Fox's fire drove the blistering blue chakra back, the energies crackling loudly enough that Naruto thought he would probably even be able to hear it with his physical ears. The Fox roared and flared his chakra, the display spectacularly powerful, but Naruto knew the defense would only be temporary. Even Kyuubi was not mighty enough to pull them apart, not without one or both of their flimsy human souls being torn to pieces in the process, and there was no way to know how Sai would react. The solution would not be one of victory, Sakura always said there was no winning in love anyway…

"I have an idea!" Naruto shouted.

"About time! I can't hold him off like this without damaging our body!" Kyuubi snarled.

"Just hang on! I'm moving the energy away from our heart…" Naruto replied, sounding weirdly calm to himself even with the jagged terror was so close.

"You're doing WHAT!?" Kyuubi shrieked.

"We can't accept his energy, it's too much, too foreign, right? Our own energy is tearing when it comes in contact with his and the same in reverse! So we have to pull back, pull our chakra out of the way..." Naruto said, trying to steady his own chi.

"This is OUR body goddamnit! I haven't lived a hundred thousand of your worthless human lifetimes just to die now for the sake of some kind of pathetic mortal love ritual!" The FOX railed.

"We have to try."

"No, we do NOT. That's our OWN energy you're moving you naked little human IDIOT! It's OUR life-force! You move it away from our heart and it will stop!"

"Well, I can't move his energy and it's all tangled up together anyway." Naruto muttered, trying to focus and ignore the pain of Sai's continued invasion.

Naruto screamed as another arch of the foreign blue gushed through him, deeper than before. Sai had succumbed again, pushing unconsciously, trying to claim. The urge to fight was strong, almost irresistible, but the vessel held himself back through sheer will. Doing this was extraordinarily unnatural to him, like trying to breath water, and Naruto's instincts rebelled powerfully against his logic. He wanted to panic, to fight or flee, but if he tried Sai would die and then…Naruto snarled and retreated further into his own psyche, trying to redirect his own energy, hoping that Sai's would be enough to sustain them. There was nowhere to run to and he had never actually learned how to surrender, something Sasuke was eager to remind him of, but that he had never really completely believed. Naruto knew that too, in some primal way, and was left with the helpless terror of being trapped. He was in Sai, in his energy as much as he was in the other nin's body, and there would be no easy way of removing one from the other now.

"We're going to DIE! Our heart, our heart is going to STOP!" Kyuubi howled again, sounding truly terrified.

"His energy will sustain us and keep it beating. We just have to let him come in. Believe it." Naruto hissed, gritting his teeth in his own perceptions.

"We can't! We aren't made this way!" Kyuubi wailed.

"We can adapt."

"His energy will harm us, kit! He will destroy us!"

"No, he'll pull back if it's too much and he won't kill us. Sai will do it, I know he will." Naruto snarled.

"You can't possibly know that! You're completely insane!" Kyuubi roared, raking its claws against the bars of its prison in desperation.

"I trust you, Sai." Naruto whispered and pulled the energy from his own heart.

OoOoOoO

Sasuke shivered, the icy wind shockingly cold against his blood-soaked skin, the waning sunlight glowing an unhealthy shade of purple against the snow. He blinked, feeling disoriented, as if waking from a long and awful dream. Neji was moaning softly on the ground in a bloody heap a few feet away and Sakura was still wrapped up in his arms, resting contentedly despite the fact that the fact that she had to be practically freezing to death. The snow was streaked with blood and the branches around them broken as if a battle had taken place, one that Sasuke knew about and yet could barely acknowledge. The whole situation felt more like being woken suddenly from one of his nightmares, one that had somehow managed to chase him into reality, one that had almost hurt the people he loved. Sasuke swallowed painfully, but his mouth was dry and caked with blood…Neji's blood. Sakura was making soft shushing noises against his chest and Sasuke did not know why until he noticed that his vision was blurring, that he was sobbing and shaking like a child scared by lightening. All he could remember clearly was the spicy taste of Neji's blood in his mouth and then the rage, the unholy anger colored by the wanton darkness of pure hatred, feelings he had almost forgotten. The rest of it was barely cohesive enough to understand, only snatches of images. The macabre beauty of Neji's long limbs painted crimson, the calming salvation of Sakura's warmth…He gasped.

"Neji?" Sasuke asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"I'm alive." Neji groaned, sounding exhausted.

His voice was rough, pained, and Sasuke did not like the way Neji's tone still sounded so shaky and weak. He sounded afraid, terrified, and barely even recognizable beneath the fear. The Hyuuga was many things, but not afraid, never afraid. The whole idea was wrong, everything felt wrong. Sasuke nearly screamed as the sensation of Neji screaming in his arms, fighting him like desperate prey, flooded back into his thoughts. The image was intrusive and vivid, the scent of the Hyuuga's blood cooling in the snow almost more than he could handle, much too clear to be a nightmare. Sasuke felt sharp bile rise in his throat at the memory, the chilling hate still tingling at the edge of his awareness, threatening to take him again.

"Kami! I…I…" Sasuke began, hot tears running down his face.

"Shhh Sasuke! It doesn't matter." Sakura whispered.

"We should get back." Neji said, his voice almost lost in the thunder of Sasuke's own heartbeat.

"Neji, I…I think we might have…I might have…oh shit…" Sasuke began, feeling suddenly nauseas.

"No. Almost, but not quite. Sakura saved us." Neji interrupted pithily, sounding almost like himself.

Sasuke had meant to say something else or perhaps just scream like a maniac, but suddenly the stabbing awareness of Naruto's chaotic emotions heaved into his mind like water released from a shattered dam. Pain, piercing and deep, but also tangled up in lust burned like molten steel in Sasuke's psyche. The feeling affected him, the blood rising to his skin in a dizzying blush and the soul deep ache gnawing at his belly, as poignant as if the reaction were his own instead of merely a reflection of the jinchuuriki's anguish. Neji screamed and for a moment Sasuke almost felt the silver eyed genius's confusion and guilt sifting through the link as well, but then the perception was overwhelmed by the storm of Naruto's experience. His alpha was terrified, panicked, helpless and now that the veil of his cursed seal had been lifted they felt everything in its true intensity. Sasuke gasped, fighting for control even as his soul shuddered.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted, nearly rising only to fall back against him.

"No! Wait!" Sasuke gasped, clenching his teeth to avoid screaming as another wave of pain crested over them.

"Something…something is very wrong." Neji whispered, rising unsteadily to his feet.

Sakura cried out against him, feeling Naruto just as acutely, the terror plain in her voice. Pain, desire, and more pain tore through his mind even as Neji whimpered and Sakura screamed again. Sasuke held her and fought to muffle the roaring flood of the jinchuuriki's feelings enough to figure out what the hell to do about saving him. As long as the stupid dobe was still alive, that was all that mattered. He had been trained that pain was only an illusion and even though Sasuke realized Orochimaru's philosophies were hopelessly flawed, he fell back upon the conditioning. He had to be able to think, to strategize, and having Naruto screaming in his head would not help anyone. Something must have happened when he tried to initiate the thrall with Sai, but Sasuke did not know what and regardless the situation was quickly deteriorating around them in more ways than one. Without Naruto's consciousness there was no link between the rest of them to coordinate and without Naruto's energy there was no barrier of impenetrable life-force protecting them from outside threats.

"Sasuke! We have to help them! Naruto…he's…he's being hurt! He and Sai…They're breaking each other!" Sakura gasped, rising to her feet.

"How?" Neji asked, leaning against a tree but miraculously stable looking for someone who had just broken half the bones in his body.

"I don't know!" Sakura wailed, shivering.

"Everyone, calm down!" Sasuke snarled.

Sakura stared at him as if she were looking through his face to somewhere else, to the bedroom where Sai and Naruto were currently trying to tear one another's souls apart in a desperate attempt to at lovemaking. Sasuke swallowed and tried to ignore the hard shock of freezing panic that surged through his awareness as Naruto's voice faded away from his psyche, leaving only silent emptiness behind. The jinchuuriki wasn't dead, just focusing his energy elsewhere, not wasting it on stupid things like the link when he was fighting for survival. Naruto was not dead, not dying, just…just occupied and nothing more than that. Sasuke could spare the focus to worry about his alpha, not now anyway, and knowing Naruto was alive would have to be enough. Still, it hurt, and feeling Naruto afraid made every fiber of Sasuke's being ache. The once-Uchiha knew the loss of Naruto's presence did not mean that his alpha was dead, but it had just been so long since he was alone in his own head and everything seemed too vast…too quiet.

"No! Naruto!" Sakura shouted, reaching out as if she could physically touch him.

"He can't be dead, if he were…" Neji reasoned, sounding oddly unfocused, too loud in the sudden emptiness.

"Too quiet…I can't feel him!" Sakura moaned.

"He's not dead, but we will be if those seals go down!" Sasuke hissed.

"Oh Kami! The seals!" Neji gasped, activating the Byukugan.

"We have to re-establish the barrier! We have to do it now!" Sasuke ordered.

"Too late, they're already here…" Neji whispered, his gaze locked on something in the distance.

Sasuke activated the Sharingan, praying that the genius was wrong, that he was just seeing shadows of birds or deer or some other equally innocuous thing out there in the woods. They were not prepared for an offensive, not with Naruto fully occupied with trying to do…well…whatever it was he was doing with Sai. Fighting an army without the jinchuuriki to bolster his energy would be difficult, not to mention the fact that Neji was still badly injured and Sakura was sitting naked in the woods instead of barricaded in the house. They were too vulnerable. Their weapons, other than his sword and a few kunai, were still in the mansion's defense vaults several yards and far too many minutes away. If the attackers were Hyuuga, and they probably were, any attempt to re-group would be nearly worthless since they were already being watched and trying to retreat to the main house would cost them too much time. Sasuke was not prepared to go to war, not today, not half naked and alone in the yawning darkness of his own head without Naruto to calm or temper his emotions.

He searched the woods, eyes flickering madly as the glowing chakra pattern of every damn squirrel, insect and tree flared into his vision. Even if he could generate a thousand kage no bunshin, an impossible task without Naruto's full attention, only a finite number of them would be able to use the Sharingan in any appreciable way. The visual information provided from even a few clones using the technique was simply far too much neural data to sort through, probably enough to crash his brain completely, though he had never truly tried. Fighting alone against the Hyuugas, an army in which each soldier was equipped to see chakra, would be beyond even Sasuke's considerable concentration. Granted, Byukugan was a visual technique like the Sharingan and probably prone to the same difficulties, especially in the snow. It was possible that sheer ferocity might overcome their advantage, it was also possible that Neji didn't know what he was seeing in the first place. However, Neji Hyuuga was very rarely mistaken about anything.

OoOoOoO

The emotion raged, filling Sai's body and mind, overflowing. His broiling essence swelled and pressed only to spill outward into the trembling channels of Naruto's chakra meridians. The flow of it was inexorable, something Sai felt even though he was on the very edge of consciousness, a feeling deeper even than thought. The sensation was almost like dreaming and just as terrifying, but more full somehow, more charged. Naruto cried out in pain and Sai hated the sound of it, hated hurting him, but the urge, the need to move deeper was almost irresistible. His vision was only blue, blue like the hottest part of a fire, blue like Naruto's gorgeous azure eyes. Sai could only see the blue, but he could feel Naruto, feel the way into Naruto's body. There was pressure against him, resistance, and the nearly overwhelming urge to push, to surge in and fill Naruto with his energy until the jinchuuriki was his...his to...to…Sai gasped and fought for control.

He had to wake up and stop doing...whatever it was his mind was so desperately, so instinctively, trying to do. It was a beast, a monster, these feelings and Sai needed to cage them or Naruto, his beloved, might even be killed. Their energy twisted, shedding sparks of savage delight into Sai's thoughts and then tearing in gushing, crimson agony, the pain of energies thrust together and wholly incompatible. He was destroying them both, burning Naruto's fields the way he had the crops in Wind country so long ago, turning everything black and taking the light out of the people's eyes. It felt that way, the same wanton violence. The difference was that it wasn't just food burning, but one of his most precious people who would be left empty and blackened unless he regained control. He had to stop, there was no time and it might even be too late already, but it was hard, so hard…

Suddenly, something changed. The difference was profound, enough to jolt Sai's spirit into semi-self-awareness once again. He was waking up, trying to come back into himself, but everything was jumbled up, heavy and confused. The artist struggled to surge through the blue miasma and back into full consciousness. The pressure released, retreating, and Naruto's body was open to him in a way it hadn't been before, which didn't make any sense. Naruto's energy had clung to the passages so fiercely, enough to sending geysers of searing pain into his skull with every push, and now there was hardly any resistance at all! Sai couldn't see, but he could feel the other man's energy shifting submissively, retreating, limping away and then…then nothing. Like a lake drained away into a dam with the fish left flopping in the mud, Naruto's body was suddenly just: empty. The scarlet red of his life-force was simply absent, leaving the flesh cool and still. The jinchuuriki's meridians had been abandoned, at least partly, and with a shock of pure terror Sai realized that his friend's heart was stopping too. There was no energy left to keep the organ beating and Naruto was dying, here in his arms.

The artist gasped, letting his own chakra flood in and through the dry channels, supplying the starving muscle with his own life force. By Kami, he hoped it would be enough! Sai was almost fully awake, but his focus remained internal, turned within to manipulating chakra the way he could ink and keeping Naruto alive. The blue wrapped around Naruto's heart, sinking in and bolstering the organ, trying to synchronize. It was odd, very heavy, trying to beat two hearts at once and the orientation was wrong too. Sai found himself fully occupied with Naruto's cardiac meridians, his energy settling there without any need to push further. The attention required just to keep the jinchuuriki's body alive was tremendous, sufficient even to mollify the possessive urges from before and his mind slowly began to clear. Contract, release, open and closed, so simple and yet so vital, even as single misstep and Naruto would be…Sai grunted with the effort and doubled his focus. The resistance was gone and it was enough, enough to soothe the raging need to lay claim to Naruto, enough room for Sai to wrestle control back from the ravenous beast within his own mind. He seized the opportunity with a soft cry, muffling the feelings and shutting them away again, closing the door to that part of his being and locking it tight. He built a barricade, forcing his psyche out of the darkness and the primal screaming, pulling back into the outer world.

The artist stirred, feeling sore and vaguely ill, the dense pain of the beast roaring behind the prison he had built for it still ricocheting through his nerves. He had room to think now without the rampant emotion, but the feeling of Naruto's limp body lying empty against his own was jarring, an icy afterglow chasing the heat. Sai took a breath and the air was quiet for once, not raging, not screaming like a hurricane through his awareness with Naruto's terrified voice. The real world was unnervingly still, a mockery of the cyclone within.

Groaning, the artist opened his eyes, starring at the familiar beauty of Sasuke and Sakura's likenesses on the ceiling, the painting now spattered with blood. Lots of blood. Was he bleeding or was it Naruto? If they were bleeding it meant that more than just the mind had been injured and that the injuries were probably severe. Danzo always said blood was meaningless, that a person could bleed for days without dying, but…but it was Naruto. Suddenly Sai had to work hard to breathe around the knot of dread in his chest and there was already too much to think about, too much to attend to along with pumping Naruto's heart. Blood always looked more gruesome than the injury that yielded it and now was not the time to panic. Sai licked his lips and winced at the sting, the jagged edges of small wounds rough against his tongue and closing even as he pressed them, healing rapidly. The sticky, metallic taste of blood clung to his teeth as well. There was so much and Naruto might have died already, just a shell lying there with Sai's own chakra pumping his heart and contracting his arteries. Even the thought was sickening.

Sai coughed and moaned at the sharp ache in his lungs, head spinning. He had to move and get Sakura. He had to or Naruto might die, might if he hadn't already. The artist wanted to scream, but only managed a shallow wail, the sound tinged with pain and pulling uncomfortably on his throat. He hurt everywhere, every nerve raw and tingling, like sunburned skin rubbed with alcohol. Sai ignored the pain and rolled onto his side, the cresting agony the movement brought almost pulling him into unconsciousness again. He had been injured, there was no doubt, but he felt a peculiar strength too. A kind of thrumming undertone of energy moved beneath the aching of bruised muscles and strained ligaments, waves of bolstering chakra washing through him. Sai felt the power of that sparkling tide even if he could not see it, warm like the radiant heat of a fire in the depths of winter, the foreign power rising in his flesh and slowly healing his wounds. The thrall, it had to be, and that meant that at least Naruto was alive.

"Naruto…" Sai rasped as he finally raised himself up onto his forearms.

Only silence. The empty, echoing quiet filled Sai with another surge of piercing terror and he wanted to call out again, but his teeth were chattering too badly. The artist looked, eyes burning with tears and still occasionally bleeding hazy red streams across his vision. He could see, Sai knew he could, but everything still looked all wrong.

"Naruto…are you there?" Sai whispered, voice trembling.

The world seemed real, but the color was off, the contrast too concrete and startling. He blinked and looked again, but nothing in the image was changed. Naruto was still curled up tightly beside him, the long gauges in his sides bleeding sluggishly, knees pulled against his chest and ankles crossed. Like paper rinsed of ink, the jinchuuriki's comforting beauty had been washed away, all the color gone. The shining blonde's usually golden flesh was weirdly bleached, as pale as Sai's own milk-white skin, and his hair was white as snow. It was horrible, like a nightmare, one that Sai couldn't seem to wake up from. His alpha was like a husk, the life drained from him, body closed and very dormant. Naruto looked too small that way, so weirdly fragile that Sai was almost afraid to touch him, worried that his once indomitable lover might crumble beneath his fingers like an ancient scroll. The thought was too ugly, rattling against the his caged emotions, making the air catch painfully in his chest.

The other nin's posture was closed, still and utterly silent, his head pulled down and arms firmly crossed. Naruto's eyes were closed, snow white lashes still as frozen butterflies against his alabaster cheeks, and the only blue left was in the form of bright azure markings swirled in a repetitive circle over the center of Naruto's chest and down his left arm. The markings seemed clingingly familiar, like an image from a dream Sai had once had, but they did not belong on his alpha's skin. The tattooing was foreign, stark and uninvited, and seeing it implied more than anything else that Naruto's body had been invaded. The design was complex, spinning circles bracketed with more rigid patterns, flowing almost like calligraphy across the jinchuuriki's chalky skin. There was something graceful and appealing about the markings, but Sai would have preferred the blue of his lover's own eyes instead. Naruto's hands were closed into fists, but even though he couldn't see them, Sai knew that the fingers of the jinchuuriki's left hand were graced with slender talons the same electric blue as the markings. He knew because it was his energy, his own being, and that was how his own hands had looked in the fevered dream-state of the claiming.

The roiling nausea returned and Sai had to clench his teeth hard to avoid being sick. All of this, the shreds of silk bedding still drifting through the air, the blood spattered walls and Naruto sleeping as if dead…he had done it. His love was poison. For a moment, the artist merely knelt, watching Naruto's decolorized body. He grieved, but only stillness and the aching silence took the place of weeping. Sai could not cry, not the way Sakura told him he should, not when any lapse in his control could free the monster again. Instead, he let his thoughts whirl and his heartbeat stutter, let his face be blank and empty as a photograph. He wondered where the others were, why they hadn't rushed in when…when…The ink nin bit his lip and wrenched his attention away from the dormant jinchuuriki to the rest of his surroundings.

The house was too silent and already dark, the overcast sky bringing an early dusk. Neji and Sasuke were not dallying with each other, Sakura was not laughing and the servants weren't bustling about. No one was home and that was more than just unusual, it was suspicious. There was a tiny, trembling part of Sai's mind wanted to call for the others, to sit beside Naruto and cry for help like a lost child. He ignored the impulse. Enemies were close and Naruto was vulnerable. Something had happened and whatever it was had been dangerous enough to call his mates away from the relative security of the manor. He could not call, not aloud, but Sasuke had said that he always knew where Naruto and Sakura were through the thrall. Sai's eyes narrowed.

With one last frantic glance at his bedroom door, Sai moved closer to Naruto and closed his eyes, searching within for the connection to the rest of his family. At first there was simply too much feeling, too chaotic and jumbled to make sense of, but after a moment the artist was able to quiet his mind enough to perceive the subtle differences. There was anger, heavy darkness, undiluted hatred, but there was love too, hope, trust, surrender, comfort. He took a breath, hands shaking. For the first time, he was not alone and the enormity of the sensation was almost enough to shatter his untried psyche. An entire palette of feeling was open to him in the gently pulsing energy of the thrall and though it was still very new, the sense of the others and their emotions was invitingly familiar as well.

Sai could almost discern Sakura's essence from the others, the sweet strands of rose-colored affection blended with Sasuke's passion and Neji's tempestuous longing. He felt her warmth, the solid girders of her strength even though she was desperately afraid. They all were, even Sasuke, and that nearly made Sai's heart skip a beat. Sai could feel them reaching, blindly searching for Naruto, voices crying soundlessly for him. Gently, uncertain of whether or not he would be welcome, the artist reached back.

OoOoOoO

"Sai…" Sakura whispered, looking out into the distance as if the artist stood just before her instead of hundreds of yards away.

"He's alive and under the thrall!" Sasuke hissed, smiling savagely.

"What about Naruto?" Neji asked warily.

"He's alive, but probably too weak for us to feel him. He always is after a claiming. Fucking moron…" Sasuke practically snarled as he turned his attention back to the advancing threat.

"What?" Neji asked, feeling his blood run cold.

"He won't be able to help us." Sasuke said darkly, shooting Neji a piercing look to ensure he understood.

"But, why is he weakened? I thought he needed it, needed the sex…" Neji argued softly.

"He does, but the initial act is very difficult for him. Naruto expends too much energy in a claiming." Sakura whispered.

"Then, he can't even fight?" Neji hissed, horrified.

"No. After he claimed Sasuke, Naruto was comatose for hours and badly weakened even after regaining consciousness. A claiming is just as difficult for him as it is the one being mated." Sakura explained, looking worried.

Neji shuddered as the fractured pieces, the snippets of conversation and half formed worries he had ignored as paranoia over the last several months, finally fell into place. All of it actually made perfect sense and the inescapable truth that Hiashi was using him to start a war instead of stop one was so seamlessly, brutally logical that Neji cursed himself for not seeing the entire scheme before. He had been blind, hopelessly blind to the utter elegance of the murder unfolding before him, but only because his uncle wanted him to be. Hiashi knew that this would happen, he had probably known all along. An opportunity to kill a jinchuuriki that only came once in a very great while, a moment of vulnerability that could even be manipulated…it was far too tempting for someone like Hiashi to ignore. The clan leader had planned on Naruto being vulnerable following a claiming and that was why the information about when the jinchuuriki would take Sai had been so important to him. Hiashi may have even originally planned to attack using Neji's claiming instead, planned to kill Naruto while Neji was still wrapped in his arms. The thought made the Hyuuga sick. Neji had been used, used like any other tool or weapon, with no regard for his needs as a person. This marriage was no peace offering, but a clever deception designed to create an opening for attack and one that might even work.

"The soldiers in the forest," He whispered, "They're Hyuuga."

"Probably." Sasuke agreed, scanning the tree line.

"They are. I know they are." Neji confessed licking his lips.

"How can you tell?" Sasuke hissed, studying the still distant threat with the Sharingan.

"No one else knows that Naruto is vulnerable right now." Neji said, the words like frozen shards of glass in his belly.

Time seemed to stop as Sasuke looked at him, the blood red gaze of the Sharingan studying Neji's chakra with almost inhuman speed, the shock on his face like a torch pressed into the Hyuuga's heart. For a moment, Sasuke just looked, saying nothing. Sakura gasped, green eyes filled with tears, and raised her fingers to her mouth as if to muffle the sound even as it escaped into the frigid air. Sasuke bared his teeth and Neji could almost hear the tirade gathering in the other man's mind, the words he would use to say what they both already knew. The murderer took a breath, but then seemed to reconsider, pressing his lips tightly together as he looked away. Neji closed his eyes as the pain gathered in his chest and the unfilled stillness stretched. The words would have been better, anything better than the silence.

"You told them…?" Sakura asked, shaking her head as if she refused to believe it.

"I…I just didn't want anyone else to die. I didn't think it was important." Neji whispered.

"Idiot!" Sasuke roared. "Why would Hiashi want to know if it wasn't important!?"

The rage radiated off of the other man like heat from a candle, filling his words until the very air seemed charged with Sasuke's anger the way it sometimes was with his lightning. Neji closed his eyes even though he knew it was cowardice, even though looking away from Sasuke did nothing to change the character of the feeling or the sound of Neji's own shameful heartbeat. There was no escape, not from this or from the rest of his mistakes.

"I…I don't know. I thought he was just paranoid, worried about more subordinates…" Neji sighed, shaking his head.

"As well he should be!" Sasuke snarled and his voice was filled with the darkness of the other, the perversion that Orochimaru had buried in his soul.

"Sasuke…?" Neji whispered, eye widening.

"They should be afraid…We are not helpless." Sasuke growled.

"We should pull back, find Naruto…" Sakura suggested, her voice calm despite the tremor in her fingers.

"Naruto is indisposed and so our little visitors will just have to content themselves with me but…I'm not alone." Sasuke rasped and the end of the sound was almost a damp chuckle.

The bone deep chill returned, the same feeling that filled Neji's bones when the monster held him in its claws, the fluid blackness that Sakura managed to snuff out seeping into the air once again. The evil was palpable even as Sasuke struggled with the wrath, like a shroud cast over their spirits, burning and thick like tear gas. Neji took an involuntary step back as his lover's Sharingan eyes flooded with the demon amber once again. The beast was still there, waiting within the shadows of the murderer's soul for a scrap of hatred, just a bit of darkness it could use. Neji swallowed hard. Kami, if only Naruto were here!

"Sasuke, you're okay honey," Sakura whispered urgently, "Just keep calm."

"We will kill them…kill them all…and all the blood will freeze onto the snow, like rubies jewels for you my darling. It'll be gorgeous." Sasuke giggled, even as he brushed his lips gently over Sakura's brow.

"Sasuke, stop it! Hold it together!" Sakura hissed through her tears, gripping the raven's face fearlessly.

"It's time for death. It is the right time. Don't worry, I won't let it control me…" Sasuke whispered as his teeth lengthened, the struggle evident on his face.

The monster was there, reigned in only by Sasuke's will and already struggling at its bonds, scrabbling at even the hint of violence like a stoat with the scent of blood in its nose. Neji could see what Sasuke was doing, testing himself and the margins of his own control, hoping to use Orochimaru's cursed seal as a weapon. The thought almost made Neji swoon. They needed an army to have any hope of surviving this conflict without Naruto, Neji recognized that as well, but Sasuke was toying with releasing something more like hell than war. While he had seen first-hand the power that the seal of heaven bestowed upon its wielder, Neji had no delusions about the price that kind of power required. The idea sickened him, but the Hyuuga shouldn't have been so surprised. Sasuke was doing what he was always doing without Naruto to hold him back from the abyss: trying to chain hellish powers beyond human comprehension to his own will and become invincible. Without the sanctity of love to soften him, the only thing the raven truly understood was violence and Neji had no doubt that Sasuke would release his considerable fury onto the same people he still considered family without a shred of hesitation.

"Sasuke…no…" Sakura whimpered.

"No, you don't have to! I…I'm so sorry." Neji said, hoping Sasuke would still be able to see that it was true.

"You were stupid, Hyuuga. You let them manipulate you and now more will die regardless of your original intentions." Sasuke snapped haughtily and his voice was his own, but the amber remained.

"Sasuke…Please…" Sakura said, moving to grip his wrist gently.

"She's right! Don't let that monster have your body just because of me!" Neji cried, moving closer.

"Your uncle is going to die today, Hyuuga, and all your kinsmen with him. I'm going to hang their heads in my forest…" Sasuke hissed, licking his lips as the anger surged through all of them again.

"Sasuke! Stop playing with it!" Sakura roared, "The seal can only be evil! It's isn't something you can use!"

"Evil has its place." Sasuke whispered and then laughed, the ice cold madness just below the surface.

"You don't need it, we can figure this out," Neji whispered, "Together."

"Do you want to live, Hyuuga? Do you want Sakura to live? I do."

"Sasuke, no! Don't let it happen! Naruto wouldn't want you to suffer that way!" Sakura cried, a fresh flood of tears glistening in her eyes.

"There is no other way, woman. I am not strong enough to save us alone." Sasuke sighed, meeting her eyes with gentleness enough to dim the demon gold for a few precious moments.

"I'll fight with you! You aren't alone!" Neji shouted.

"You're injured and…confused." Sasuke said coldly.

"I was an idot, but I can still fight!" Neji snarled.

"Yes, and you will." The other nin giggled, the maddened gold rising in his eyes like a sunrise in hell.

"Stop! You can't control it! We have to find Naruto!" The Hyuuga cried in desperation, "Please don't go, we can think of something else! Something that doesn't involve that…that thing!"

Sasuke ignored him and bent to the pile of clothing Sakura had left on the forest floor, systematically plucking the kunai, knives and darts out of all her robes before draping the heaviest kimono around Sakura's shivering shoulders. Sasuke put the weapons into his belt and handed one of the lighter robes to Neji, who took the kimono gratefully and put it on despite the fact that it was obviously a woman's garment. The color in Sasuke's face was fading, replaced by the ghastly gray once again even as the first subtle sounds of the approaching soldiers became audible. Neji reached out and caught the other man's arm, trying to muffle the small sound of shock and disgust at how cold Sasuke's skin had already become.

"Not this Sasuke. Please, please not this…I love you." Neji whispered, holding him tightly even if the very touch of that skin sent soaking rushes of revulsion down his spine.

Sasuke stilled a moment, meeting the Hyuuga's eyes with a softness totally at odds with his steadily changing features. He looked at Neji the way he always did, searching for something unseen, assessing the truth of his words or reading the color of his soul and the Hyuuga never could be quite sure which. It was the truth and it always had been, his intentions had never changed. Neji loved them, loved them all, far too much. He sighed and closed his eyes as one of the people Neji had come to love most in the world wrapped himself in the blackest evil any of them had ever seen. He finally understood how Naruto must have felt all those years ago, watching Sasuke dive headlong into suffering and helpless to stop him…it was an ugly feeling.

"Protect her. I'm trusting you. I know that in this I can." Sasuke whispered, gazing at Neji with the same yellow eyes that would probably haunt his nightmares forever.

"I promise. I will protect her with my life." Neji swore, kissing Sasuke's knuckles as the smell of winter intensified and burned in the air.

"There has to be another way!" Sakura sobbed.

"Don't go and die for nothing, Hyuuga. You aren't as worthless to everyone as you are to yourself." Sasuke hissed, pinning him with his eyes.

The Hyuuga pressed his lips together instead of arguing and nodded with as much dignity as he could muster. Neji knew his life had never really been his own, always a tool for someone else's plans, just the brush used to write Hiashi's orders and the dagger used to carry them out. His role hadn't changed, but now Neji belonged to someone who cared how his breath was spent and if he gave every last gasp of it and every drop of blood protecting the woman they all loved then he would at least have the comfort that the sacrifice was not in vain.

Sasuke pressed his blackened lips to Neji's cheek instead of speaking, the gesture one of both affection and apology, filled with a careful gentleness that was his alone and had nothing to do with the war or the seal or the monster writhing just beneath his skin. The brilliant murderer hesitated only a moment more to glance at Sakura before stepping away from their clinging hands and towards the oncoming assault, moving with deadly purpose even as his body continued to transform. His hair became blue, his fangs long and keen, even as Neji watched and Sakura continued to sob in silence. Sasuke spread his clawed wings wide and launched himself into the air with a flurry of snow and an unholy shriek. A few thunderous wing-beats against the freezing air, a single breath of crystalline silence and then the screaming began.

OoOoOoO

"Come," Sakura's feelings said into his head, "Come…We are hurt, we are in danger…Come…"

"I'm coming." Sai said, though no one could hear him.

Cognitively the artist knew that he had never actually moved, that the communication, as vague as it was, had all happened in his head. Still, pulling back required surprising effort, as if he too were crossing a distance. With a delicacy born mostly of uncertainty, not wanting to hurt or distract the others, Sai disentangled himself from the lapping currents of the thrall and opened his eyes. Naruto still lay before him, curled tight and completely white, the pulsing azure of the swirling markings clinging like thickened ink to his ghostly skin. Sai licked his suddenly dry lips. The others needed him, they were being threatened, Neji was probably injured and Sasuke was…was sick somehow, but leaving Naruto now would feel like leaving his own heart unprotected in an open field. The jinchuuriki slept on, oblivious to the danger, helpless.

"Naruto, please wake up." Sai whispered.

There was nothing, no movement or sound to indicate that the other nin could even hear him, much less respond to the request. The sorrow swelled then, beating against his ribs and making the bars around his forgotten feelings brittle. Sai knew he would gladly die, expire right there on the spot, if he could just see Naruto's laughing blue eyes and honey colored hair once again. He would give anything if his alpha would only stir and wake and tell him that everything was alright, but Naruto slumbered on, barely breathing. Sai was still beating the jinchuuriki's heart, but it was a difficult task and not one he could ever hope to accomplish while fighting at the same time. Sighing shakily, the ink nin brushed his lips across the chilly skin of Naruto's shoulder, both relieved and disappointed that something as simple as a kiss changed absolutely nothing. The others needed him and Naruto might be able to survive on his own, there was no logical reason not to try, but the idea still tugged at his soul like a thorn.

"I love you. Don't die." Sai said and took a deep breath.

Slowly, one shallow heartbeat at a time, Sai pulled his chakra back from the foreign channels. Doing so left Naruto's cardiac meridians dangerously empty and even moving with glacial patience, the procedure seemed too fast and too unwieldy, as if even the slightest thought out of alignment might shatter everything. Sai pulled himself out of Naruto and it felt unnatural, as if his energy had grown weirdly accustomed to the other man's body and refused to be extracted, but he kept dragging anyway. Naruto didn't like his energy, it was not good for him, and Sai would never be forgive himself if…He refused to even think about the possibility. Finally, the last flicker of chakra was the only bit of energy connecting them, but Sai hesitated.

"You have your heart back." The artist whispered, brushing Naruto's white hair away from his face, "You gave it to me and I do not know why, but it is undamaged so please…please beat it."

For an instant that felt like an entire lifetime, there was nothing. Naruto lay still and white, like a corpse, with no pulse or heartbeat. Sakura had taken a little time to come back as well and Sai knew that he needed to give his alpha a few moments before giving up and filling his meridians with his own poisonous chakra again. The heart, Sakura said, was a fussy organ and usually needed at least a moment to synchronize before beating again after surgery. This would be the same, the same as surgery, but for the spirit instead and the artist imagined the principle would be very much the same. So he watched nervously, counting the seconds in his head, probably too quickly. Just another second, just one more and he would push the energy back in and save Naruto. Almost an entire minute had passed when Sai felt the first ripple of a thready pulse in Naruto dorsalis pedis artery.

"Thank you." Sai whispered as the pulse grew stronger beneath his shaking fingers.

The blue of the markings on Naruto's chest and left arm dulled and stopped pulsing, to Sai's relief, but the rest of the jinchuuriki stayed just as white as it had before and his wounds were not healing. Naruto was not alright, not by far, but at least he seemed relatively stable and he would not be stable for long if anything happened to Sakura or Sasuke. Taking the luxury of a deep breath, Sai prayed to whoever might be listening that his lover would awaken and that he would be able to stop whatever was happening to Sakura and Sasuke, but it was the only hesitation he allowed himself.

"I must go. Don't die." Sai said and stood, hating the way Naruto still seemed to still and small among his sheets.

He moved to the trunk on the other side of the room and pulled what was left of his old combat gear as well as the new armor Sasuke had made for him from its recesses, glad that Naruto had at least decided that his utility jacket was modest enough to keep. It was time to go to war and modesty would no longer be a concern anyway. Looking at the worn jacket with its patched knife holes and singed edges made him a little bit sad and the artist truly wished he could have left it to molder in storage forever. Sai had always privately enjoyed times of peace, even though Danzo said that any nin who dared to love peace was both an idiot and a traitor; that ninja thrived on conflict like sharks on blood. Maybe it was even true, at least in part, but there was too much inconsistency and Danzo had been wrong about so many things so many times before. Sai didn't trust his judgment anymore. Naruto had taught him a different way, taught him that life was not black and white and that everything depended upon a person's intentions and whether or not life was wasted. Complexity and contradiction were part of life and Sai knew from experience that the silence following a battle could be both very bloody and very peaceful, especially when everyone was dead.

OoOoOoO

The aching cold was almost like a physical force, like struggling through water or sand, each movement more difficult than the last. Kiba's muscles burned with fatigue and his elbows were rubbed raw, the wounds bleeding only to freeze against the snow until the pain numbed and became an anesthetized kind of ache like every other sensation. The cold muffled everything, leaving their bluish world in an eerie kind of solitude. The key, Kiba knew, was to ignore the artificial solace of the snow and maintain momentum. He and his little band of misfits would not be the first nin lulled into apathy and a slow death by cold.

"Almost there, brats. Almost there…" Kiba whispered as they crawled.

"H...H…Hai, Kiba-sama." Aki replied through chattering teeth.

"The others…we can't make it much longer." Yumi whispered seriously, his breath shockingly warm on Kiba's ear.

"Almost there brats! Crawl damn you!" Kiba snarled and the boys picked up the pace with a few scattered whimpers of effort.

They had been crawling for hours beneath the half-frozen snow of the forest floor and the temperature had been steadily dropping along with the sun. Even Kiba was cold and he was wearing furs beneath the Hyuuga armor not to mention the warmth radiating from Akamaru. He could not imagine how cold the boys must be wearing only light stealth gear and fingerless gloves. The same snowy cover that saved them from both Hiashi and Sasuke's visual techniques might also kill them if his young troops succumbed to hypothermia. They need to find the river and soon.

"Kiba-sama! There's a bank." Yumi whispered as the signal was passed to him from the three boys in front.

"Let's hope it's the right damn bank." Kiba whispered as he slid from Akamaru's back and onto the freezing ground.

The dog had been crawling along with the rest of them and Kiba knew his knees were probably raw from it, but the Inuzuka ignored the smell of his beloved companion's blood and wriggled forward between his shivering soldiers. He kept his eyes closed, abandoning vision for touch and scent instead. The smell of blood was still strong in his nose, but it was coming from the east and not the direction they were traveling. Something very violent had happened in these woods and it had happened before Hiashi's offensive which was probably a very bad sign, but not something he could spare the energy worrying about now. Kiba sniffed again, opening his mouth as well and immediately catching the unmistakable odor of river water filled with ice.

"We've made it to the river." Kiba said quietly.

"Thank Kami!" Someone whispered.

"I can't feel my feet!"

"We must have crawled for miles!"

"Is anyone dead?"

"Hush ya idiots!" Kiba snapped, "Just because we made it to the river don't mean we're out of this yet!"

"I can't find Tohru." Aki whispered.

"Then he's dead." Kiba murmured.

"What?" Someone hissed.

"I…I'm not dead." Tohru whispered from a few feet to the right, "I had to stand up."

"Moron! Don't do that!" Kiba snarled.

"I can't move my legs properly!" Tohru whined.

"Get down!"

"What does it matter if we're already at the river?"

"Quiet!" Kiba snapped.

He listened, hearing only the breathing of his troops, Tohru's faster than the others' with either fear or anger and Kiba did not spend too much time wondering which. The boy had basically painted a giant red target on his ass by standing up and anyone paying even the slightest attention to this area of the forest would have noticed immediately. Kiba held his breath and listened, trying to hear up, up above the snow, above the trees, up where Sasuke might be lurking. There were no other competing sounds beyond the tiny noises his own people were making, no birds or mice or squirrels, and in a forest that kind of silence was worrisome enough. The Inuzuka waited, even though he could feel the others getting agitated, painfully aware of how exposed Tohru was standing above them. Then, so soft he would have ignored it at any other time, Kiba heard the faint rustling from above. A sound almost like wing-beats filtered down to his questing ears, but from a beast far larger than an eagle and far stealthier than an owl.

"Down! Now Tohru! Get down!" Kiba shouted.

"What is it?" The boy asked.

A moment later the world around them erupted into a roaring storm of flame, lighting the snow from above so brightly that Kiba's eyes burned even behind the lids. Kiba pressed his belly to the frozen earth and tugged Yumi down with him to do the same, the inferno above them fierce and hot enough to melt the snow and boil the water it made. Yumi shrieked at the sizzling steam scalded the backs of his shoulders through the thin mesh shirt he wore, but only wormed down closer to the ground, resisting the urge to turn or stand up. Akamaru whined loudly and began digging his body further into the snow and the frozen turf beneath as the fire grazed him as well. Tohru was screaming like a rabbit in a snare, but the sound was nearly lost in the deafening roar of the blaze above them and Kiba had to strain just to hear him. Kiba bit his thumb and turned just enough to begin creating a seal in the snow as the rest of his young squad began to panic in earnest. The heat was reaching them and Kiba could feel it too, hot like an oven and twice as violent, they all would have probably cooked already if not for the thick feet of snow covering them. His heart was thundering in his ears, but Kiba's hand was steady as he drew the jutsu, trying to complete the design. Tohru wasn't screaming anymore.

"Shit!" Yumi shouted to his right.

"Run! Run to the river!" Someone yelled.

"No! Stay put! You move and you die!" Kiba roared.

"Obey Kiba-sama!" Aki snarled.

The fire was Sasuke's doing, it had to be, and the idea was actually rather brilliant when he paused long enough to think about it. The subordinate probably couldn't see them clearly beneath the snow, but once he saw Tohru and suspected that there might be others he looked closely enough to see that there was something down there. The sheet of flame was an ideal technique to use against an enemy in an uncertain position because it decimated everything in its path and prevented one's opponent from mobilizing effectively. Still, if Sasuke was really the one up in those trees, Kiba would have expected him to use a sophisticated follow-up technique and their attacker was still just blowing fire. There was something in the strategy that didn't quite fit. Kiba finished the seal just as the snow it was written on began to melt. It didn't matter, the chakra was already in place and the Inuzuka snapped the final words to activate it even as the symbol began to run.

Suddenly, the terrible roaring of the firestorm was silenced even if the deadly light still danced above them. Kiba smiled and wet his lips, heart still pounding too hard to even manage a sigh of relief. That was a little closer than he had hoped for. The jutsu was just a simple barrier bonded to the surrounding snow instead of to any one person and that feature of it would obscure their position as well as make it more difficult to dissolve. A tricky barrier like the one he had just created would take Sasuke Uchiha approximately ten seconds to destroy. Akamaru whined a little and began shuffling forward again, reading Kiba's intentions perfectly as always.

"Move!" Kiba bellowed even as he lurched forward himself.

"What about the bank? What do we do when we lose the snow cover?" Yumi asked as they all crawled frantically.

"Run like hell for the water!" Kiba ordered.

"Is it Sasuke?" Aki asked.

"Not sure. Just move!" Kiba snapped.

The lavender light of dusk greeted him abruptly as they pushed through the snow bank on the edge of the river just before the ground fell away completely. Someone shrieked as they fell the short distance from the river's edge to the muddy ground below and even Kiba was forced to scrabble his way down the slippery embankment like a crab. The stones beneath them were large and very round, ground away by ages of river water and slicked with a thin layer of algae, an absolute deathtrap to anyone without perfectly sure footing. Kiba groaned as he stood and nearly fell again. The boys were tumbling down the embankment in a disorganized herd, leaping form rock to rock as soon as they managed to disentangle themselves from each other, making for the river through the mists that shrouded it. Kiba smiled and turned back to the roaring forest fire, praying that whoever presented themselves out of the blaze would not be Sasuke.

"To the river brats and once you reach it start swimming!" Kiba shouted.

"The current's in the wrong direction!" Someone bellowed from within the mists.

"Doesn't matter, just swim in place until I come for you."

"But, Kiba-sama, what if you never come?" Yumi asked, gazing up at him from his crouch on a rounded stone a few feet away.

"Then tread water 'til morning, hold each-other up, and go to the Inuzuka compound as soon as the mists begin to thin. The mist, it's like the snow, it can hide you for a while from visual techniques." Kiba explained and gestured for the youth to leave.

Yumi nodded once and sprang away, following the others towards the swirling mist and the rumbling sound of the river's passing. If you wanted to hide someone from an over-powered freak like Sasuke Uchiha or a murderous bastard like Hiashi, the river could not have been a more perfect place since it masked both sound and sight. Kiba could probably be shouting and no one would ever hear him so close to the surging water, not to mention the thick waves of mist created by the boiling hotspring meeting the icy snow-melt. Satisfied that his boys were as safe as humanly possible for the time being, Kiba focused on the blaze. He didn't have to wait long.

A figure appeared above the billowing smoke, the sound of its wings almost lost in the noise of both the fire and the river below, moving gracefully in what even Kiba could recognize as a hunting pattern. Akamaru snarled low in his throat and even though Kiba didn't have the first clue about what was flying over Naruto's forest, he knew it wasn't anything good. The Inuzuka pulled closer to the dog and signaled with his fingers for his friend to prepare just as the figure dove and alighted in front of them. There was no time to wait and see what in the hell it was.

"Akamaru! Human Beast Combination! Now!" Kiba roared even as his dog moved into position.

Their bodies merged, aligning with a single intention, spirits woven together. Kiba took a breath and snarled, his voice rumbling like thunder from the voluminous caverns of his chest and ricocheting off the river stones in a thousand echoes. Akamaru was with him, closer than they ever could be in their own bodies, melded bone to bone and sinew with sinew. The two headed beast growled and Kiba was not alone in his mind anymore, the warmth of his childhood friend present in his thoughts as surely as it was wrapped around his chakra. The dog was filled with fierceness, protection of it's fleeing pups, a sentiment Kiba agreed with whole heartedly. The boys may not be his own children, but they were his people dammit, his soldiers, and he would defend them.

"Enemy." The winged monstrosity before them said tonelessly and Kiba felt Akamaru hesitate.

There was something very peculiar about that thing, something that didn't fit…well, aside from looking like a demon coughed up from the deepest corner of hell. The voice, it was Sasuke's alright, but the being standing before them was only vaguely recognizable as Naruto's pet murderer, more in how it moved than any single feature. More importantly, the thing didn't have a scent.

"Sasuke?" Kiba tried, crouching low in preparation to pounce.

"Die." The monster said, and flew at them.

Akamaru ducked his head just in time for Kiba to catch the monster's left wing in his own powerful jaws. The satisfying crunch of shattering bone rang through his skull, filling both the nin and the dog bonded to him with animal joy, but Sasuke neither screamed nor spoke. Instead, the monster turned like an eel in a fish-trap and raked Kiba's left eye with his claws. The two headed dog howled, the searing pain distracting Kiba for the barest instant, but more than enough time for Sasuke to escape and take to the air again. A shower of projectiles rained down onto them from above, but Kiba and Akamaru made no move to dodge the assault, enduring the bite of the steel in favor of tracking Sasuke's movements with Akakmaru's undamaged eyes. They shared vision, Kiba and the dog, and for once it was the only sense available to them. The roar of the fire and the river beyond it made discerning Sasuke's direction from sound alone impossible and as for smell…it was like the monster attacking them was no more than a shadow.

The subordinate circled and dove again, slashing at Akamaru's head with his sword. The Kiba hunched their body closer to the ground in a defensive posture and jerked his head up, snapping savagely and catching only air. Sasuke was trying to harass them into a more compromising position, but Kiba had no intention of allowing it. With the river at his back and the bank to his left shoulder Kiba was too well protected for the projectiles to cause any serious damage and funneling character of the terrain also allowed him to halt any progress Sasuke might make towards the water and his fleeing squad. With a shriek, the monster halted his attack and alight on a tree a few yards away, too far for a kunai but the ideal distance for another flame attack. Kiba growled.

"Super fang wolf fang." Kiba thought to Akamaru and the dog agreed.

The chakra began gathering, swirling and spinning with the force of a hurricane in their chest, but growing denser and heavier by the moment. Sasuke was gathering himself as well, breathing deep and preparing to spit an inferno directly into Kiba and Akamaru's faces, a strategy that would cripple them regardless of the defensible position they held. The Super Fang did not require the kind of preparation that Fang Wolf Fang did, but it was still a relatively time intensive attack, usually too slow to use against an enemy of Sasuke's caliber. Just gathering the kind of energy needed for the technique required far too many seconds to be useful against a single, focused and highly skilled opponent. However, Kiba was not convinced that the enemy they were fighting was, in fact, Sasuke at all.

The murderer belched his fire towards them in a searing rush, but the two-headed hound was already spinning, following the inexorable momentum of the chakra within. The flames crashed against the air being stirred by the technique and the two forces spun and shattered against each-other, tearing the night with electric blazes of light. The blood dripping into his eyes made his vision blurry and dark, and there was no scent he could use to track the monster, but the battle had already been decided. He and Akamaru had managed enough favor with the gods to be granted the stupendous good luck of fighting a shadow clone, a kage no bunshin, instead of the real thing. It was a good clone, the best Kiba had ever seen outside of Naruto's, but even the best clone could not withstand a single strike using the massive energy he was currently generating.

The monster screamed and spat the flames at them again, but Kiba ignored the puppet and focused within instead, concentrating on the Super Fang and letting the energy grow. They spun, like a whirlwind, like a galaxy, too vast to resist. The winged subordinate dove at them, probably directed by Sasuke himself to stop the technique before it could be completed, and tried to catch a hold on their back only to be swept away by Kiba and Akamaru's powerful tail. He impacted against the naked stones of the bank with a deafening crack, body crushed and yet still corporeal. Usually clones dissipated after a single blow. The winged beast with Sasuke's voice struggled to its knees, raising a clawed hand as if in preparation for another attack. It was a damn tough clone, the likes of which Kiba had never seen before, and if there were others Hiashi would be hard pressed to win against them without taking heavy losses.

Hiashi and his losses no longer mattered though, they were periphery, landscape. The only thing left in Kiba's awareness was Akamaru and the titanic spinning force that they were generating, the gravitational pull of their own power. With a sigh almost like laughter, Kiba and Akamaru synchronized the last of their energy and released the technique, sending their shared body in a spinning typhoon into the river bank. The clone was vaporized with a rending shriek like escaping steam, the sound of matter becoming energy once again, and the stones of the river exploded sending clouds of pulverized rock streaming into the air. The concussion of their movement was like an detonation of its own, pressurizing the air and then releasing it like a ball fired from a canon, flattening the trees to the ground like kindling. The earth bucked and settled for hundreds of yards, forming a crater that soon filled with water, the land changing chaotically around them.

With a groan of effort, Kiba stilled his body, quieting the last remnants of whirling energy coursing through their shared form. Carefully, the dog lord began separating himself from Akamaru's mind, sorting each into their own space once again. There was something so comfortable about the combined body, something that always made the transformation a little more difficult to terminate than Kiba would have liked to admit. Akamaru barked and with one last puff of chakra, they were separate entities once again, standing shakily on the slippery river stones. Kiba shook his head, trying to get his bearing again and still dizzy from the adrenaline. The land had been altered substantially in the battle and for the first time he thought about how the Super Fang might have changed the river, how the explosive energy might have affected someone hiding in the rushing water.

"Shit!" Kiba gasped and Akamaru whined softly.

OoOoOoO

The soldiers were everywhere, slinking through the trees and crawling beneath the snow, a massive offensive on a scale he had never imagined could be accomplished by just a single house. Hiashi was throwing all his strength into killing Naruto quickly, a very good strategy when facing an opponent infinitely more powerful than yourself and one that would be difficult to run in their favor. Using the dark energy harnessed from the Seal of Heaven, he had been able to generate seventy three high quality shadow clones, three of whom were capable of using the Sharingan. However, one of those three had already been destroyed far to the east along the banks of the Chosokabe river and another would succumb soon to the combined efforts of the Hyuuga vanguard. The cost in energy was enormous and made worse by how much concentration Sasuke had to expend just to keep his own writhing evil at bay. Even now the hate, soaking and chilly as freezing blood, battered at his consciousness and threatened to overwhelm his control.

For now, even though the mere presence of ninja in such a remote area of their territory was unnerving, the small unit in the east would have to be ignored in favor of facing the main body of Hiashi's force. Sasuke did not understand why a squad would be sent to the east when there was nothing of any interest in that direction other than a steamy river valley and a few small shrines to the forest gods, but an enemy without a clear purpose was often a worse threat than one whose intentions were clear. The clone had clearly seen Kiba Inuzuka in his combined battle form, which Sasuke had been expecting if the two clans ever came to blows, but the dog nin had seemed more interested in protecting his soldiers than pushing for tactical advantage. He wanted to send more of his force to investigate, but there were simply no available clones to send! Whatever mischief Kiba may or may not be up to, it would just have to wait until Sai arrived or Neji healed sufficiently to engage them without compromising Sakura. Until then, Hiashi and his main forces had his complete attention.

Sasuke shrieked, the sound tearing out of his body on instinct without any conscious effort, and dove towards the spearhead formation. The lavender sword was naked in his hand, gleaming weirdly with the failing light and slicing the cold air as easily as it did flesh, whistling through the sky like an arrow. When Sasuke struck the first of them, he had already cut his way half-way through the Hyuuga's body, before he regained enough sense to stop and turn on the others. The brittle crack of snapping necks and the steamy gush of fresh blood were glorious, the screaming that accompanied the fighting almost like a symphony in his roaring ears. Delivering swift and agonizing death to his enemies was what Sasuke had been bred for and even without the ecstasy of the seal he reveled in the thrill of battle so long denied.

With a curse, one of the Hyuuga ninja braced his feet and moved to strike Sasuke in the face with a chain-blade, all the while performing the jutsu for the Gentle fist. The subordinate dodged easily, sliding into the other ninja's guard as smoothly as a serpent slithering into a basket. Being able to prepare a technique as complex as the Gentle Fist one handed while smacking someone else in the face with a swinging weapon impressive, very impressive, but ultimately futile. Laughing, Sasuke pulled the man's left arm off just as the technique was released into the empty air off to his right. He spun, letting the razor sharp claws of his wings tear into the others, ignoring the blood dripping steadily down his hand from the appendage still sluggishly spurting in his claws. Another wave of ninja struck, spinning like cyclones and hurling kunai with enough force to shatter the surrounding trees, but he was prepared.

With another savage chuckle, Sasuke aligned his body with the magnetic center of the Earth, synchronizing his chi and forming the almighty power of separation. The charge gathered, the particles held away from one another and growing more agitated by the moment, the holy powers of force and magnetism bending to his will once again. The grounding was firm and the path straight, but Sasuke held back another moment longer, letting the roiling ball of electricity acquire another layer of density.

"It's chidori!" One of the Hyuuga shouted.

"Block his chakra!" The order given far too late.

Stiffened fingers struck the chakra meridian in Sasuke's wrist, blocking the flow of energy there, but the power of his master's seal merely carved a new channel around it. That was the true beauty of the Seal of Heaven after all, that it allowed chakra to flow unimpeded regardless of whether an established pathway existed or not, cutting through anything. The damn thing was genius really, but also woefully unstable like all of Orochimaru's ill-fated projects. Once he would have screamed as the life-force tore into his tissues, but Sasuke had learned to embrace the pain of the seal and in so doing became its true master. No one else could wield the seal as he could, but Sasuke was quickly approaching his limit. Even now the bubbling madness threatened him, swirling waves of blackness lapping at his logic, but Sasuke forced the influence of the seal away and drove the lightning into the ground at his feet with a resounding boom. The earth shook, shuddering with the shattering fission happening just beneath the surface. The Hyuuga nin had a moment to glance at once another before the twisting electricity burst from the ground beneath their feet and dove towards the skies.

"Reverse Chidori." Sasuke whispered as the trees around him ignited like torches in the night.

The electricity surged through the soil and broke through, reaching for the air in flashing blue forks, completely the reverse of natural lightning and twice as devastating. A scorching ring of rippling blue energy rolled outwards from his hands, vaporizing the snow lying on the ground and riding up every blade of grass in a hellish lightshow. The forest shuddered and the Hyuuga ninja screamed as one as the biting electricity heaved through their bodies to explode in iridescent bursts above the battlefield. A clap of thunder that shook the very fabric of the air and blew Sasuke's hair up from his skull bowled through the forest like a physical thing, the sound enough to set his teeth chattering before everything went utterly silent.

The trees burned, limbs crashing back down to the forest floor as the searing heat of the fires caressed Sasuke's face. For a moment he was lost, the chakra fatigue hitting like a thousand iron weights, making his head spin and his stance unsteady. The other Sharingan clone was gone, destroyed by the battalion moving in from the southwest, but Sasuke had enough information to know that the force from that direction had been badly weakened. As for Naruto, his presence was still an aching void in Sasuke's spirit. He took a breath and reached for Sakura instead, for the comfort and peace of her presence, following the thrall back to her and treading the darkness invading his own psyche. She was warm in the icy ocean of the seal, life growing green and verdant in the desert of his thoughts, and he reached for her like a man buried alive pushing for the light.

"Sakura…" Sasuke whispered, swaying.

To his left another team of ninja approached, fracturing Sasuke's concentration as their chakra blazed across his Sharingan enhanced vision, the threat clear in the wary way the Hyuuga invaders moved. There were so many of them, too many to kill before they reached Sakura. He had to retreat and establish a position closer to their woman where his clones would be less likely get be flanked and outmaneuvered. Sasuke snarled and turned to face the twenty nin creeping towards him, flipping his grip on the sword for greater agility, the better to finish the conflict as quickly as possible and return to where Sakura was still hiding with Neji. The leader shot forward from a crouch, slicing low for Sasuke's knees, but the raven batted the attack away with his wings and turned. He spun like a dancer, avoiding the chakra blocking attack following the blade and slicing down in an elegant sweep with his sword. The hilt of the katana was slick with gore and his control faltered for a fraction of a moment as he sliced the weapon through the Hyuuga's startled face, causing a partial decapitation instead of rending the man in two. Death was death, but the imperfection irked him all the same.

Rolling up into a more stable stance, Sasuke engaged the others, fighting hand to hand and trying to conserve his chakra as much as possible. Steel met steel, ringing like bells in the shadows as the forest burned. Sasuke finished the three nin he had met and moved for the others. The remaining Hyuuga fell back smoothly into a Striking Hawk formation, an endlessly moving row in which two people could work together to strike while a third distracted the opponent. Unfortunately for them, the formation was one of Naruto's favorites to use with his endlessly boisterous kage no bunshin and Sasuke knew its weaknesses well. He struck, ignoring the peripheral movement nagging at his attention and lunging straight into the "beak" of the attack, the lavender steel meeting the gritty strength of a kunai. Sparks leapt, but Sasuke turned before they even met the ground, driving his claws deeply into the throat of the third man in the line. With another inhuman shriek, the subordinate spread his wings and propelled himself into the air, neatly killing four more as he moved.

"Enough, you fools!" Someone roared, "He's not the target!"

"Ignore the fliers and find the female! Kill her and we kill them all!" Another commander barked.

In an instant, the remnants of the Hyuuga ninja team vanished, fleeing into the forest. Sasuke roared and flew after them, diving into the trees headlong after the drifting chakra of the men, flinging kunai in a desperate attempt to distract them. The clones turned as one, moving to intercept the changing threat, but there were still too many. Kami, there had to be hundreds of them! Sasuke spat fire at his prey and the clones echoed the technique until the western forest was filled with hellish light and the sound of fire sizzling against the snow. His clones' aim was true enough, but most of the Hyuuga attackers were using the Byukugan and the strategy barely even managed to slow them. The wily invaders dodged and batted the missiles aside only to spring faster into the spectral obscurity of the trees, threading between one another to confuse their positions. Sasuke was uncomfortably reminded that these men were Neji's family and that they probably shared the same steely focus that made the brunette so damn dangerous, that they would stop at nothing to murder his wife. Even on the wing, Hyuuga clan ninja were fast and he would be lucky to catch all of them before they found Sakura and Neji. Sasuke cursed and flew higher, searching for a vantage point.

OoOoOoO

Neji knew his position was vulnerable, not because the terrain was bad or because the wide saddle of the tree trunk was insufficient cover, but because he was trying to hide from Hyuuga ninja and there was no hiding from the Byukugan. He had thrown up a careful barrier, one that would usually have served to make them completely undetectable except by scent, but any nin looking directly at the place with a visual technique would see them instantly. Sakura sat behind him, totally silent as only a well-trained operative can be, eyes scanning the sky for Sasuke's return. Neji licked his lips, activating the Byukugan again and searching for the chakra of attacking soldiers among the more sedate energy of the trees.

"They're coming." The girl whispered.

"I don't see anything yet." Neji replied.

"I feel it, through Sasuke, he is pursuing them." She explained so softly that Neji had to strain to hear her.

A surge of anxiety had gripped him as well and his instincts were usually accurate, but the Byukugan did not lie, their area of the forest was still clear. Neji took a deep breath, gratified and mildly startled that his ribs no longer hurt, and prepared to fight whatever came through the trees. His hand was healed, as were the deep gouges in his arm, and while the Hyuuga genius had no explanation for the preternatural healing, he was grateful for any assistance the universe was willing to lend. Protecting someone was a difficult proposition even in the best of circumstances. Having to manage an opponent, while simultaneously watching for and preventing any harm to another party was a dangerously complex task and one that many died trying to accomplish. Neji didn't care about dying, he'd only really been living since marrying Naruto anyway, but he would be damned if anyone laid a finger on Sakura while he was still breathing.

"Anything from Naruto?" Neji asked softly.

"No." Sakura said, her voice weirdly clipped even in a whisper.

Neji grit his teeth and pressed his back a bit closer against her. Darkness had fallen fully, but the forest was still filled with the light of fires to the east and the west as well as the rippling blue pulses of Sasuke's deadly lightning. Many were dying, Neji knew it even without having to see for himself, and more would die if they managed to penetrate far enough to engage with Sai. The artist was moving towards them like a bullet, dispatching everything in his path with the same single-minded efficiency that had once convinced everyone that he was merely a human weapon. Sakura updated him on Sai's position every few minutes, but the Hyuuga fancied that he could almost feel the artist's approach himself, the cool rage growing closer with every moment. Neji hoped he came soon.

"Close now." Sakura whispered just as Neji picked out the flickering silhouette of the first invading nin.

"Stay quiet." Neji breathed.

Neji crouched low, watching the approaching danger through the blazing lens of his bloodline talent, breath catching as he realized that there were Hyuuga soldiers coming from almost every direction. Sasuke and his clones were still some way off, at least judging from the sound of the carnage, and the kage no bunshin Neji had created were not nearly as durable. A few of the attackers were drawn off chasing his doubles, but not nearly as many as the genius had hoped and there were still more than enough people combing the forest to find his location. As he feared, the Hyuuga were not chasing every shadow, but conducting an organized search for something and that something could only be Sakura. The way they moved, the formation patterns, all indicated a search mission instead of merely an attack and if they were searching then at least one member of ever team would be using the Byukugan.

"There! I see them!" Someone shouted and Neji prayed with all his worthless soul that it was only one of his clones they'd spotted.

"Neji Hyuuga, your position is surrounded." A voice barked.

Neji recognized the man as Tetsuo, a middle aged veteran from the clan's foreign operations team, and the father of two young sons. The realization nearly made him sick. They were all family, all people he knew and many whom he loved, and if he faltered even for a moment they would destroy everything he had come to love in this life.

"Walk away Tetsuo!" Neji snarled, baring his teeth and letting the barrier fall.

"We have our orders." Tetsuo whispered, eyes glued to Neji's own.

"Why are you dressed like a woman?" Someone who sounded like his cousin Shirou asked.

"Because there are worse things than you in these woods, Shirou." Neji spat.

"The better to leave. Give us the woman," Tetsuo replied coolly, "Then we can all go home."

"I am home." Neji growled.

"Neji, I…" Shirou began.

"Stand the FUCK down!" Neji roared.

"Give us the female oni." Tetsuo ordered.

"Never." He hissed.

"Then prepare to die with her." Tetsuo whispered.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even alone, the three subordinates manage to hold Hiashi's army at bay. However, when the casualties of war begin to fall on both sides, something else is unleashed that only Sakura has any hope of containing.

It is no wonder that jinchuuriki inevitably establish a position of control in whatever community they are born. Revered as kings, generals or even gods, the creatures stand above by sheer dint of their nature and the expectations that come to be placed upon them. They ascend to a position of authority in many ways, both as saviors and as tyrants, but few have ever managed to live a life of anonymity amongst their human counterparts. Though the creatures are mostly human in regards to the overall makeup of their flesh, the demon can be passed from one individual to another and are rarely, if ever, lost. Even though the vessels are viewed with both repugnance and loathing by many, their power is undeniable and will either be harnessed or incensed by the human societies in which the jinchuuriki flourish. Like the elemental demons bound within their spirits, jinchuuriki can either nurture life or destroy it, but regardless of their purpose the beings ultimately cannot be overcome without erasing an essential influence from the planet. Such is the natural order of things and much as mankind might despise it, the truth of a jinchuuriki is that power of the kind they wield obeys no master save itself.  
-Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons  
Sasuke struggled, launching himself farther into the air and then diving again only to be met by the same volley of Hyuuga energy techniques as before. The attacking ninja weren't stupid and they only launched the jutsu as soon as he reached the treetops, within the range that made their attacks maximally effective. He dodged, gritting his teeth as more precious clones were extinguished in the rain of chakra powered missiles, none making it to the ground where Neji was still gracefully holding off the main body of the Hyuuga force. The genius was a fine warrior, one of the best Sasuke had ever seen, but even he would be unable to hold back an entire army of talented ninja forever. Already, Neji's focus was being badly taxed and Hiashi's forces were using that fact to their advantage. They swarmed around him, attacking from every direction and multiple positions, trying to confound the Byukugan and Sasuke knew eventually they would succeed.  
The Hyuuga vanguard had concentrated its forces, throwing every asset into attacking Sakura or thwarting her rescue, and even Sai was meeting a strong arm of organized resistance on his approach from the main house. The artist was bulldozing his way through the attackers like a one man war engine, but he was still too far away to help them and expending astounding amounts energy just to get through. The precious thrall, the preternatural energy which bolstered them all, was not enough to sustain the kind of attacks everyone was using without Naruto to direct the energy. They were all running out of time. Sasuke grit his teeth and spun, hacking frantically with his sword as a mass of Hyuuga shadow clones flung themselves into his path. The clones were weak, dissipating easily, but Sasuke could not risk spitting flame so close to Sakura's position. Instead, he was forced to tear his way through them until ramming into the steel teeth of the Hyuuga operatives organizing the offensive from below. With an inhuman shriek of frustration, Sasuke snatched one of the soldiers in his claws and roared back up into the smokey sky, tearing the screaming Hyuuga apart with his claws.  
The carnage of it only incensed him more, the bloodlust roaring in his ears and clouding the direction of his own clones. The clones lost their purpose for a moment, flying in circles and engaging with random Hyuuga warriors instead of using an organized battle formation. Sasuke cursed and retreated a fraction until he could coordinate them again. The Seal was battering at him with every failed attack, the insistent weight of the madness slowly growing and requiring ever more energy to control. Sasuke screamed, calling for lightning and sending sizzling arches of energy into the ever shifting Hyuuga battle lines in the trees. The forest echoed with screams and the electric snap of Chidori, but the Hyuuga forces regrouped easily, their pattern tight and impenetrable. Sasuke gnashed his teeth, enraged, and dove again, spinning with the naked blade in his hands. The maneuver generated a deadly maelstrom of slashing steel and claws, but too many of his clones expired as the technique stole his attention.  
Sasuke fumed, alighting in a tree and engaging one of the Hyuuga commanders in furious hand to hand combat, hoping to buy enough time for the few remaining clones to reach the ground. He slashed and leapt, easily avoiding the man's Gentle Fist, but missing with his own parry as the swooshing energy of the somatic attack glanced off his right shoulder. Snarling Sasuke struck with the sword, catching only air as his opponent spun in a flawless pirouette out of his reach. Without a hint of hesitation, the Hyuuga threw himself low, sweeping his feet out and locking his ankles around Sasuke's left knee. The subordinate slithered his way out of the hold and planted his sword with a sickening squelch into the man's left eye. Blood gushed from the wound even as the Hyuuga sputtered and died. Sasuke giggled.  
He was losing control of the Seal and he had to reach Sakura soon before the darkness took him completely. Sasuke leapt for the ground only to be pushed back again by the combined efforts of the Hyuuga clan's most talented defensive nin, rerouted away from his family. Snarling, the subordinate turned and tried to dart around the spinning formation, reaching for the ground and the precious woman huddling beneath the smoke and confusion in the snowy boughs of their forest. Again he was repulsed and the tearing pain of rage that seared him was nearly enough to break Sasuke's sanity. The clones were milling around him, unorganized as their master fought to hold onto his own equilibrium, batting at the Hyuuga line uselessly.  
They were losing ground and soon the position would be unrecoverable! Sasuke flipped himself in midair and launched backwards through the air with his feet against the trunk of a tree, engaging the threat with renewed ferocity and tearing through the Hyuuga soldiers like a spinning saw-wheel. He grabbed the nearest foot soldier by the chains on his armor and sank his teeth viciously into the man's neck, tearing his windpipe away with a sickening jerk. The taste of it, of the hot blood spurting against his tongue, was amazing and the agonized groan of the ninja dying in his hands even more enticing. He threw the body away and lunged again, pushing the ecstatic temptation of the experience out of his mind and moving for Sakura. Again, the Hyuuga forces rallied and blocked him. Sasuke howled, flapping madly, jaws snapping with rage. He was slipping, dipping too deeply into the Seal's power and still unable to reach her! The Seal of Heaven changed the hurt of fear and frustration into pure, white hot anger, an emotion which Sasuke was steadily losing control over. The more anger, the greater the violence and the more he tore the Hyuugas apart, the more hate seeped into his heart following the scorching rage. The chill of it, of the cloying loathing, was sinking closer to his own sense of self with every slash and blow, blurring the lines between his mind and the monster buried in his heart.  
The death, the swirling brutality of it felt so good, the blackness of the Seal absorbing the bloody rush of battle and converting the feeling into ever more power for him to relish in, a positive feedback cycle gaining momentum with each new kill. He dove, concentrating on the center of the weaving Hyuuga line, the clones once again synchronized to his intentions and flying in tight pattern in a sweeping blade of death. Sasuke used the last of his forces like a sickle blade, allowing the clones to feed from one another's momentum, less flying than plummeting towards the ground in a swinging chain of razor sharp claws. The Sharingan was requiring too much focus and Sasuke abandoned the technique in favor of Chidori, bouncing the electric charge from one clone to the next in a crackling circuit of deadly energy. The lightning swung from the end of his formation like a whip, slashing the very molecules from the air and rending the flesh from Hyuuga bones, the screams of injured men lost in the roaring of the electricity.  
Hiashi's forces changed their formation as the edge of his attack reached them, moving like water and escaping the worst of the impact. They shifted like spirits, roiling away from him, and suddenly Sasuke was on the other side of their formation. He looked into the gloom of the forest only to discover that without the Sharingan to guide him, the clever bastards had rerouted him away from Sakura again and that he was west of her position. Sasuke roared, electricity still snapping between his clones, the last vestiges of a wasted technique and one that had cost him dearly. Damn Hiashi, damn them all! He had to get through, he had to save Sakura, and Neji for that matter! The frustration of it, the feeling of despair, of failure was almost too strong for him to escape. Naruto needed him, everyone did, and he was in the wrong place! Sasuke raged and turned, slashing his sword against the fleeing edge of the Hyuuga battle line. They were pulling back, moving into a tighter circle around Sakura, but Sasuke pressed them for every inch.  
He tore at the soldiers in maddened fury, fighting with sword and claw and even his teeth as the steaming geysers of their blood flooded his senses. Sasuke touched and his opponents died. The snow was soggy and melting with the hot blood of his fallen enemies, the forest floor slowly changing into a mucky swamp beneath their feet as more and more fell. For a moment, Sasuke forgot about Sakura and Neji, forgot about everything except the luscious flood of fresh blood and the melodious snapping of bones. He reveled in the pain and the blood and the perfect destruction for a bare heartbeat and then it was already too late. The darkness surged and overcame him, bubbling out of his raw throat in maddened laughter. He wanted to kill, destroy, erase. The urge to undo, to dismantle bodies and lives and even the very fabric of every living existence within his reach was intoxicating, too wretchedly sweet to resist. The madness pulled away his logic and Sasuke was free to simply bask in the death he wrought, numb to anything except of the velvet blackness of his own evil and the unholy pain it brought.  
Yes, blood and death and more blood! He shrieked in delight, tearing a man's head from his body so that the gore splattered into the air like rain, bathing his face in steaming sweetness even before the man's scream faded from the air. The world ran with crimson blood and hate and rage and Sasuke was reaching for another body before the heartbeat even ceased in ravaged shell of the last. The tiny silver bell of Sakura's voice in his head seemed so distant, almost like a dream, and too easy to ignore amongst the hellish harmony of the screams. Sasuke laughed again and spat a roaring blanket of flame into the trees.  
OoOoOoO  
Neji felt something in his own awareness snap the instant Sasuke lost himself to the Seal of Heaven. Like a tendon breaking in a cold joint, the support of the subordinate was suddenly and profoundly no longer there, leaving Neji momentarily startled and off-balance. The feeling of Sasuke, of his frustration and fear faded and Neji was left gasping as a fresh surge of icy hatred washed over his mind instead. He almost screamed to feel it, the potent madness, but the preternatural sensation served as a timely warning. Neji knew without knowing, felt in a place deep in his spirit, that Sasuke would use fire and he ignored his cousin's attacks for the few precious moments it took to create a defense. He nearly lost control of their precarious position trying to erect a barrier strong enough to withstand the scorching onslaught of the Uchiha's flame, but a moment later and the fires would have killed them all.  
Sasuke spat reckless fire through the narrow break in the trees, manipulating the flames in a broad sheet of molten energy, incinerating everything not protected by a jutsu shield. The flames danced and roared, a thousand colors of death and Neji was screaming along with his kinsmen as those unable to respond quickly enough were caught up in the fire. The heat of it was incredible, searing his face even from behind the shield he'd managed to construct, cracking the roots of the tree against his back. Sakura was shaking, huddled behind him and trembling like an oak leave in the rain, but Neji did not know if it was in fear or frustration at being so powerless. The Hyuuga forces rallied at the last instant, but barely managed to hold against the terrible power Sasuke had unleashed against them, erecting barriers with frantic determination as their clothing began to ignite. The soldiers were screaming in terror even as they mobilized, voices Neji knew and recognized, crying out in agony before becoming suddenly silent. Sakura was screaming too, tears streaming down her face and hands pressed against her ears as if she could shut her husband's evil out along with the sounds of battle and death.  
Sasuke laughed like a demon as the Hyuuga forces turned as one, moving the energy like water, redirecting the furious energy of his flames back into his maddened face. With a sneer, the black haired devil snapped his fingers and extinguished the energy of their assault as if it were nothing. Neji gasped at the monstrous display of unholy power and pressed his back closer to where Sakura huddled, unable to block the sudden shock of terror seeing the creature's uncaged face stirred within him. His concentration was frayed already and watching Sasuke that way, soaked black with blood and leering at him with dark intent, was enough to overwhelm Neji completely. The feel of those talons against his flesh was too new and for a few awful heartbeats Neji was crippled by the memory. Sasuke, the Sasuke he and Sakura loved at least, was no longer with them and Neji had no idea if the beast wearing his lover's body was acting as a friend, a foe or merely a wanton agent of destruction.  
Flapping it's hideous wings, the monster launched itself back up into the sky, screaming with fury and a sick kind of joy. Neji swallowed and firmed his stance in the scorching breath before his kinsmen attacked again. The Hyuuga forces turned against him like some kind of machine, a thousand synchronized gears whirring, pounding Neji with one perfectly executed somatic attack after another. He held, but only barely and the shield required too much focus to maintain. Panting, the brunette allowed the barrier to drop just as his kinsmen turned back against him with renewed determination, blocking their attacks hand to hand. Combat was easier to manage than a chakra jutsu and combat, but Neji managed to block the strikes only mere moments before they connected. He was tiring and they were getting far too close!  
"Fall back, closer to the tree!" The girl hissed.  
"If we lose ground, we can't regain it." Neji argued.  
"We can't hold this way, we need a different position!" She snarled, neatly breaking an opponent's hand with a savage little flick of her wrist.  
Neji wanted to argue further, but she was right. Neji was moving too slowly, frazzled by the additional threat of Sasuke's unpredictable behavior, and now that some of the snow had melted they did have enough space to retreat a fraction. Sakura pressed herself against his back, darting out with a small dagger anytime his kinsmen managed to find a hole in his defense and drawing blood every time, her aim both true and vicious. Even so, even with all their combined strength it wasn't enough and Neji knew it. With Sasuke stalking overhead, ready to dive and fry them all into nothingness at any moment, could not maintain the iron control over his own senses that he had before. There were too many variables to account for and every moment they spent strategizing his family was slowly gaining dangerous ground on his otherfamily, grinding away his resistance like stone against a mason's wheel. Motioning for Sakura to follow, he sunk back a few inches against the tree, using the minute retreat to achieve better stability in his stance.  
The Hyuuga forces leapt upon the small show of withdrawal like rabid wolves, striking hard and fast, all attempt at martial organization or battle discipline gone. Swallowing hard, Neji gathered his strength and answered the ferocious volley of chakra powered fists and piercing somatic energy with a swirling counterattack. His hands churned like a cyclone, moving almost without his will, working to redirect the strikes into nothingness or other attacking bodies. Even using the other nin's blows against them, Neji felt pressed. His kinsmen were now driven not only by Hiashi's orders, but the promise of a grim and horrible death, and they fought with the determination of the truly desperate. Any hesitation the Hyuuga clan might have clung to before was gone and they attacked him like any other enemy, moving for any weakness like sharks driven mad by blood.  
A snaking fist wormed through his guard and in to strike the chakra pathways in Neji's left shoulder, sending a shocking heave of numbness rippling down his arm. He grunted with pain, but managed to turn enough to escape the full impact of the block and save his chakra channels from being disrupted completely. Neji reversed his grip on the sticky kunai he still held and drove it into the man's face, trying hard not to decipher who he was killing under the armored war mask. One fell, but many more took his place and the chakra meridians in his arm were too bruised to react fast enough to halt them. The next soldier to dart into his reach nearly struck past his defenses to Sakura, parried aside at the last minute by the woman's excellent dagger block.  
Electricity snapped through the trees above them and the harsh scent of ozone blended with the potent scent of winter as the world was illuminated in garish flashes of blue lightning. The Hyuuga ninja pressing him fell back, working together to erect another barrier against Sasuke's unhinged violence before the next firestorm could descend upon them. Hissing Neji fell hurriedly to one knee, using the momentary reprieve to activate a more powerful attack. The barrier he had drawn before was dimmed, but not erased completely, and he could use it as a framework to refract the jutsu he desired. The effect would be devastating, something he had never dared to actually do, a theory created late at night and never revisited because of the sheer ugliness it promised. He had tried everything to avoid using the technique, especially combined with an array, but Neji wasn't saving any lives by hesitating. He was rapidly approaching his limits and he had nothing left to use against them, nothing left to do if he wanted to protect Sakura and breaking their morale would be crucial.  
Taking a breath, he formed the jutsu in a flurry of carefully precise gestures, releasing Sixty Four Palms into the array still smoldering from the barrier created before instead of into the enemy lines. Wind surrounded his hands, howling eagerly. Energies swirled and gathered at his fingers, the searing light a shade whiter than the snow, moving almost as if alive in its own right. With one last breath, Neji completed the attack, forming the last symbol and locking the energy into the bounds of the array. With a shout, Neji slammed his hands against the glowing jutsu, watching as the glittering attack spun within the framework of his earlier weave.  
The chakra erupted with light, pulsing in arching waves of pure white energy across the snow, freezing every living thing caught in its path. The power crawled into the chakra of every living body it touched, stilling the life-force there with perfect focus, but not blocking it. The very idea was an abomination, but Neji knew that breaking his clansmen's determination and forcing them back into Sasuke's fiery jaws was a sacrifice he was willing to make. He was a terrible person. The white glow, like a star dying, cast everything into stark shadow for a single, horrible moment. The Hyuuga soldiers unable to climb into the trees and escape the impact were rendered motionless, their bodies as still as statues, unnaturally rigid in the flickering light of Sasuke's fires.  
"Sixty Four Death Palm." Neji said simply, naming the technique even as the shame of what he had done began to condense.  
For a moment there was only silence and the crackling of burning wood. Dozens of ninja stood around them, locked into grim postures of shock and horror, eyes wide and mouths open in silent screams. They were frozen like renderings carved from stone, familiar faces still flushed with color, but inexplicably still. Arrows were held half-drawn, kunai still gripped in whitened fingers, gazes still locked upon Neji's face in confusion and disbelief, disbelief that one of their own could ever unleash something so gruesome. He didn't begrudge them the sentiment. Neji was the only person who had ever combined Sixty Four Palms was a defensive jutsu and managed to perform the technique without being caught up in it. The worst part was the inescapable knowledge that the men were still alive, trapped in their own bodies more completely than they would have been in chains, locked helplessly in their own frozen flesh.  
With a half-choked sob, Neji looked away, trying to ignore the terrible spectacle of his kinsmen slowly dying of asphyxiation. The true horror of Sixty Four Palms was not in the destructive force the technique wrought when used as an offensive maneuver, but in the broad disruption it caused to living bodies when bound to an array. When the technique was performed within the framework of a barrier spell such as the one he had used, it did not kill its targets, but instead trapped their bodies in a kind of motionless chakra spasm. The victims could not move to attack or to pump blood through their bodies, they could not breathe or even to cry for help. Soon, the forest was filled with the quiet, ugly sound of people drowning on their own saliva, smothering slowly in their own flesh.  
"Kami! Neji! What have you done?!" Sakura whispered, looking at the frozen soldiers in horror.  
"Stay down." He snapped, trying not to listen as his family members gagged and died around them.  
"Kami! Stop it! They're dying!" Someone shouted.  
"For Kami's sake Neji! At least let them live!"  
"Stop it! Please."  
"I can't," Neji said, his voice only trembling a little, "You must leave this place…"  
"Traitor!" Someone screamed from the trees above.  
"Traitor!" Another echoed the curse.  
"Neji! How could you?!" Another kinsmen wailed.  
"Traitor!"  
"Traitor!"  
"This…this is too ugly!" Sakura wailed, closing her eyes.  
"Ugliness is necessary. They won't attack us that way again." Neji whispered.  
"But...They…You love them…" She sobbed.  
"Neji's a traitor!"  
"TRAITOR!"  
A whoosh of air heralded another scalding ball of flame as Sasuke spat roaring chakra at the shocked Hyuuga forces from above, his fires close and reckless enough to make Sakura scream as the edge of her robes caught ablaze. With a grunt, Neji tackled her, beating the flames out into the snow and cursing the careless monster Sasuke had become. The subordinate cackled madly and proceeded to tear one of the Hyuuga ninja out of the trees, rending the man into pieces in mid-air like some kind of psychotic hawk with a hapless rabbit. Neji swallowed and pressed a shaky kiss to Sakura's neck as he stood again and forced his foolish muscles to adopt a solid fighting stance. The Seal of Heaven made Sasuke stronger, but at the cost of destroying his entire purpose in the assault and Neji knew Sasuke was no longer distinguishing ally from assailant. He had to consider the navy haired monster as an additional enemy until he came back to his senses. Sakura had almost been burned for his carelessness!  
"Oooh yessss, very nice! A pretty sssstatue garden to go along with my firesss!" Sasuke cackled, perching on a branch above them.  
"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed, reaching towards him, "Come back to us!"  
"He can't hear you." Neji whispered.  
"He can," Sakura cried, "I know it! Sasuke! Please!"  
"Shhhh…Not yet, darling. We'll play later," Sasuke said, licking his gory lips, "For now…letsss just watch…"  
Neji could barely stand to look at him, at the hideous monster wearing his lover's skin, even though he certainly had no right to pass judgment over Sasuke's fall. He had fallen too. They had both succumbed to evil in their own ways. The monster's glowing yellow eyes surveyed the spectacle with a perverse kind of appreciation, scouring each dying soldier's body with obvious delight and approval as they twitched and strangled. Neji felt sick, but managed to ignore his own pain in favor of blocking a whistling storm of arrows. Sakura was still weeping as if her heart were broken and even Sasuke shuddered to hear it behind his maddened smile, but the Hyuuga soldiers continued to die regardless. Neji grit his teeth against the heavy sadness, the pain of his own betrayal. If the product of his ruthlessness occupied Sasuke's attention for a few precious moments, if he could focus on one threat at a time, then at least the atrocity was not in vain.  
OoOoOoO  
Sai unrolled his scroll, drawing yet another battalion of Fu-dogs and snarling dragons with an almost effortless flourish of his brush. The ink beasts leapt from the page, their forms somehow more substantial and infinitely more vicious than any he had summoned before, jaws snapping and tails lashing with agitation. The ink was different today, more alive, and it practically jumped from the parchment and into the physical world in ready obedience to his will, glistening with unmatched vigor and just the barest glimmer of electric blue. Sai whispered to the ink creatures beneath his breath and they tore into the startled Hyuuga troops like a cyclone, tearing limbs from bodies even before he had finished freeing them from the paper. The ink jutsu was perfectly suited for battle against the Hyuuga forces since the enemy ninja relied so heavily upon somatic chakra techniques and general manipulation of body energy, jutsu designed to incapacitate a human target and weak against obstacles. His opponents' strategy was deadly against living opponents, but almost worthless against paintings manifested purely through Sai's own will, beings not alive in their own right and yet still composed of enough organized matter to get in the way. His creatures surged forward in a chaotic tangle, fracturing the already wavering Hyuuga battle formations and preventing the invading forces from organizing for another push. The paintings borrowed Sai's own chakra to exist, but he could organize their meridians in whatever way suited him, which was an advantage. The ink nin drew the chakra into his jutsu in odd alignment to their limbs, something that confounded the Hyuuga attackers and made the beasts particularly resistant to the invader's techniques.  
Nonetheless, the enemy was slowing him and Sai knew that the others would not be able to hold their position for long. The ink flew from the scroll as another line of Hyuuga archers drew and fired against him from their perches in the trees. Sai dodged the volley neatly in a perfectly executed flip, rolling up into the very center of a half-formed iron jawgear formation, a moving ring of slashing soldiers alternating simple stepping maneuvers with full spinning kicks. A difficult formation to achieve among the trees, it was still very dangerous once the participants managed to sync completely with one another and Sai had no intention of allowing them to getting the jawgear moving smoothly.  
The artist crouched low and kicked out, snapping his deadly steel guarded feet against the unprotected knees of the Hyuuga soldiers even as the ink beasts tore into the formation from the other side. People fell and clones dissipated as their chakra sputtered into plumes of smoky vapor. Though being caught in such a formation was disorienting, Sai knew that the best place to attack it from was the center and he resisted the temptation to find a more protected position. The artist held his ground despite the pain as a multitude of razor edged daggers bit savagely into his shoulders and unprotected back with the Hyuuga counterattack. The formation was still spinning around him in endless rings of striking hands and weapons, but the momentum the attackers had managed before was broken and the Hyuuga strategy was quickly becoming more of a vulnerability than an asset. Sai's injuries were inconvenient, but superficial and a worthwhile sacrifice for the superior position he had achieved by holding the center.  
The Hyuuga ninja were exquisitely trained and the jawgear formation dissipated as smoothly as rainwater hitting a tiled roof as soon as the tactic failed to serve their purposes. Sai grunted and moved back into an offensive fighting posture, thrusting forward with a low kick and slashing with long sweeps of his tanto, gaining ground as his paintings massed against the enemy's left flank. He feinted low to the right as the Hyuuga nin attacked, blocking their strikes gracefully with his tanto, always moving forward and finishing another painting just in time to shred their defenses apart. Sparks flew from his steel as the artist gripped the paintbrush in his teeth and freed his drawing hand to block the spear snaking forward for his unprotected hip. Sai directed the beasts into a spearhead formation, opening the path to where Neji still struggled to protect Sakura from his invading kinsmen.  
The strategy gained him a bit of ground, but the ink monsters were destroyed almost instantaneously by a storm of chakra driven arrows as the Hyuuga lines closed again with the cover of their archers. Sai panted. He had only managed to hold the meddling soldiers at bay for a few heartbeats, gaining bare yards of distance before they closed again. This was how the Hyuuga were fighting, forming one wall of bodies after another between Sai and his lovers, trying to keeping him from joining the front. The artist calmly drew as set of throwing kunai from his vest and hurled the weapons against the waiting archers, following his own projectiles in a spinning hurtle over the still milling Hyuuga foot soldiers even as an ink crane moved to catch him. The beast was destroyed mere moments after he settled onto it's back, but Sai continued moving forward regardless.  
Delay was an appropriate tactic for a situation of this kind and one his enemies were using well; he had no choice except to keep ramming he way through, gaining ground in precious yards instead of miles, but their resources were not inexhaustible either. Sai plowed into the lines of invaders again, hurtling his way through the bodies more like a war engine than a lone nin, pausing only when the Hyuuga soldiers managed to reform their line into a firm formation. There was no point feeling frustration as the emotion added nothing to his strategy and Sai was having a difficult enough time as it was holding himself back from the roaring rage the thrall was funneling to him from Sasuke. Sai could not allow himself to be swayed by the feelings, as powerful as they were, not now when his control was already in jeopardy and everything depended upon remaining strategic in his approach.  
The artist knew they were trying to slow him, and succeeding for the most part, but the Hyuuga forces were simply losing too many people to sustain this mode of defense. It was a weakness he could use. Blinking the sweat and blood out of his eyes, Sai relaxed into one of the dueling exercises he had learned in Root, stabbing two-handed into any vital area without regard for his own defense. The fighting posture was built for rapid strikes and relatively closed, hands drawn tight into a mid-level front guard and one foot raised for kicking. Sai could kick and follow with his hands, allowing him to steadily step through the group without losing ground. Danzo had taught them the technique in an effort to train his soldiers to ignore their own bodily injuries in favor of achieving greater destruction when outnumbered.  
Originally, the exercise had been designed to condition Root's ninja for ready acceptance of slow and agonizing suicide, but Sai had no such intentions. The thrall healed his body almost as quickly as the Hyuuga could injure him and the fighting position at least offered reasonable protection to his vital organs. Shielded by the power of Naruto's love, Sai was unstoppable and he moved through the enemy ranks with deadly purpose, killing with every careful step. He ignored the bite of steel into his sides and thighs in favor of greater momentum, moving forward with steadily increasing speed just as Danzo had taught them so many years ago.  
Sai was practically soaking in his own blood scant moments after adopting the strategy, but the thrall bolstered him and the pain was meaningless. Pain was an illusion, but the feeling of Sakura's fear inside his head was real. His family was being threatened, his miraculous woman, his fierce clan-mates, their unborn baby and with them everything he had ever loved in the world. Danzo had always said that the beauty of battle was in its simplicity and Sai thought that, perhaps, on that one point his old sensei might have truly understood something of the world. Sai would reach them and those in his path would die. Battle was very simple.  
OoOoOoO  
Naruto waited, unable to reach out of the darkness, still oddly disconnected even though Sai was no longer pushing his energy into his meridians. The place was quiet, muffled like a snowy forest and empty save for the fiery Kyuubi sitting patiently on his haunches at his side. The emptiness was startling, the darkness so profound that Naruto wondered if the Nothing surrounding them might actually be weirdly solid. Kyuubi yawned and licked at the ugly rent in his body. The old Fox had been injured during the claiming, a long and ragged tear in his shimmering coat, but they both knew the wound was not fatal so talking about it was unnecessary. Naruto wondered vaguely how the demon had managed to escape his cage, but the time to ask was probably long past and the Fox's answer would not change their circumstances. Instead, Naruto sighed and leaned back, gazing up into the Nothing as his mind spun.  
"Where are we?" Naruto asked at last.  
"Your mind, or perhaps mine…" The Fox answered thoughtfully.  
"How come your mind is so empty?" Naruto asked, gazing out into the pressing darkness.  
"What makes you think this isn't your mind?" The demon asked tartly.  
"No way my brain would be so dark or empty." Naruto huffed.  
"There are those who might dispute that."  
"What about you? Is your mind ever like this? Filled with just…Nothing…"  
"At times it is or better to say it can be…when I despair." Kyuubi shrugged.  
"Wow, your despair is way worse than mine." Naruto whispered, turning to face the Fox.  
"I have had longer to grieve than you ever will, kit."  
They sat in silence awhile and Naruto could feel the distant pounding of the others' emotions, their pain and rage reaching him like flute music carried on the night wind from a camp hundreds of miles away. His mates were fighting for their lives and he was helpless, paralyzed in the darkness, unable to move back into his own awareness while his singed chakra tried to achieve balance with Sai's. The feeling hurt and Naruto thought for a moment that he might know a bit of the despair Kyuubi described, the sadness of being unable to reach his own flesh, separated by impossible barriers from his loved ones.  
"Is it your body that you miss?" Naruto asked gently.  
"Partly, having one's self destroyed and one's soul imprisoned in a cage of flesh continually dying around it is a depressing situation…" Kyuubi sighed, its tone sarcastic, but laced with pain.  
"Yeah. I never thought about it that way I guess." Naruto admitted.  
"It is depressing, but truly I miss Her the most." Kyuubi whispered.  
"Her? Your mate? What was her name?" Naruto breathed, staring at Kyuubi.  
The fiery demon shimmered a bit in his vision, moving like light under water. To Naruto, the movement seemed almost like tears, like weeping done with the entire soul instead of simply the eyes. Naruto felt his own spirit swell with sympathy and he wept too in the quiet, unable to separate himself from the emotion, the Nothing close and deep around him. The Fox watched and its expression softened into a kind of impatient fondness before the mighty demon moved to settle itself a bit closer to him, for once simply there instead of in conflict with Naruto's own sense of self. The terrible sadness crested and waned a bit before the Kitsune spoke again.  
"My love had no name, silly kit. A name is a human construct and even my own was given to me by the men who chained me. Before the time of man, when demons ruled, we had not need for such paltry things. To me She was and to her I was and that simple truth was enough for us." Kyuubi sighed.  
"What happened to her?" Naruto asked.  
"She was killed slowly by those of your race. Her being torn apart piece by piece to light their fires or heat their stoves, her fires stolen away until she finally succumbed to an unnatural death."  
"How awful!" Naruto gasped, feeling the sorrow gather again.  
"Humans have no respect for their world. They take and take, but give nothing in return. They believed that her fire was inexhaustible, that her sounds of pain merely the humble keening of some mean beast, but it is not so. We are alive, even if we are not like you. We hurt and grieve even if we do not age or die as you do." Kyuubi said.  
"Was that why you tried to destroy Konoha?" Naruto asked.  
"No." The Fox answered simply, resting its head down onto its giant paws.  
The silence stretched and the demon did not elaborate, but Naruto was too curious. The more he learned of Kyuubi, the more the Fox did not seem like the kind of creature to visit wanton destruction upon anything. Kyuubi was old and his perspective was strange, but Naruto knew the demon was capable of a profound level of love and appreciation for the frailty of life. It seemed too weird for something that loved so deeply to simply destroy a city for no reason.  
"Then why?" He pushed after a while, hoping the Fox didn't become too angry.  
"I felt like it."  
"Please tell me, I want to know the truth." Naruto asked, shuffling closer.  
The Fox flattened its ears, clearly unwilling to discuss the incident, but Naruto just crossed his arms and waited stubbornly. Kyuubi had no right to keep this secret. He of all people deserved to know the truth about what happened during the attack, especially because he was the one who'd suffered the most because of it. Naruto had been forced to live with the consequences of that night all his life and none of it was easy. He'd been beaten, humiliated and starved because of the lives Kyuubi took and he had always just thought the demon had done all of it out of spite. If there was more, if the Fox had attacked Konoha with some other purpose, he deserved to know. Naruto poked the Fox's shoulder insistently.  
"I burned your filthy city because…" Kyuubi snarled, baring its teeth at him.  
"Because…?" Naruto prodded, unafraid.  
"Because for the first time in many millennia, I was gifted with a host whom I had grown to love and the petty human politics of one tiny kingdom took her from me as well. Even one of their own kind and they still killed her…" The Fox hissed.  
"My mother?" Naruto breathed, eyes widening.  
"Your mother," Kyuubi sighed, "Was special."  
"How?" Naruto asked, more eagerly than he would have liked, "Was she kind? Was she strong?"  
"Oh yes, kind and strong and sincere. Many of my hosts have had those qualities, but Kushina was humble in a way I had never known a human had the capacity to be. She respected life and took it with great dignity and gratitude instead of simple callous wanting." The Fox chuckled, staring at Naruto quizzically.  
"But, she was a ninja!" Naruto exclaimed, shaking his head in confusion.  
"She was and she killed with grace, which makes all the difference in the world, kit. Your mother would take a longer journey to spare the grass beneath her feet and go hungry instead of killing a rabbit pregnant with young. She thanked the wood in her fire for burning and the river where she bathed and all the spirits rejoiced in her presence. Kushina made me feel that, perhaps, humans might learn to see after all…" The Fox whispered, turning away, the humor gone from his voice.  
"And then they killed her and you were stuck with me instead." Naruto said softly, hugging his knees.  
"Yes."  
"I'm sorry. Believe it." He sniffed, feeling very small in all the Nothing of Kyuubi's mind.  
"It was unavoidable, but I fell into great despair. I would have burned the whole world if your father had not stopped me. If your mother hadn't loved him so deeply I might have even escaped that fate as well…Love is a wonderful, terrible thing." Kyuubi sighed, flickering again.  
"What could love possibly have to do with it?" Naruto asked, feeling overwhelmed as the force of the demon's sadness washed over him again.  
"Everything, kit! Love is everything. Love is what saved you that night, what saved your village and perhaps even your world. Love is the one thing you and I both understand."  
"But, how?" Naruto sobbed.  
"Your father was a superb ninja, but even he was nothing against my true might. I could have beaten him had your mother not loved him so, but she loved him the way a lily loves rain. After bonding with Kushina for so long I had come to love him, in a way, almost as dearly as she did. I hesitated, he captured me and your vile, little city was spared. For his valor, of course your father died as well." Kyuubi sighed, voice soft with some old sadness.  
"You must…hate humans very much." Naruto said, feeling ugly even by association.  
"Yes, I do, but you must know something kit." Kyuubi said solemnly.  
"What?" Naruto asked miserably.  
"That I do not hate you, not even a little." The demon whispered, looking at him fondly, its great golden eyes unmasked for the first time Naruto could remember.  
"But…you…you always say…"  
"You are often foolish and very, very horribly young, but you are the best host I have ever known. You are stronger even than your mother and with the same blessed humility, the same gratitude to the world. You never destroy life wantonly, my Naruto, and I think your love has grown to be almost as deep as my own." Kyuubi went on.  
"I…but you…I thought…" Naruto fumbled, shocked.  
"For a being so small and so young, you manage to achieve much kindness and I have come to love you for it despite my own pride." The demon admitted.  
"Love? You…you never told me…" Naruto gasped, shaking his head, "I always thought you hated me."  
"No kit, even in the greatest depths of my bitterness I never hated you. It is difficult for one such as me to love one such as you and show it. Perhaps it will be enough to know that when you die, I shall grieve so terribly that I believe I may finally be able to die as well." The Fox said at last and wrapped its tails around him in an alien embrace.  
OoOoOoO  
Neji fought as he had never fought before. Already well beyond his limits and deep into the realm of simple instinct, he surrendered to the violence and let each movement follow the last, driven by some unfathomable current from the very core of his being. Bones shattered against his palms and his opponents wailed in agony as Neji tore their bodies apart, never pausing to reassess, the momentum of each perfect strike fueling the next in gruesome synchrony. The only still place was where Sakura pressed against his back, where her precious heartbeat still fluttered against his skin, an oasis in the burning hell. The enemy came and came, forever pushing and never retreating, eyes mad with both terror and bloodlust. Neji knew he should be planning, thinking logically and calculating the most effective approach, but he was too tired and the cries of his old kinsmen all melded into a single voiceless accusation. He was a traitor, dignity and honor traded long ago for the simple privilege of survival and the only offering he had left was one of blood.  
The air was filled with sparks and smoke, roiling black against the garish firelight, thick and greasy with burning flesh. A feathery white ash fell from the fires roaring in the tops of the trees, clinging to everything and everyone until the world seemed made only of darkness and gray specters, homogeny in the monochrome chaos. Neji was struck deeply, again and again, but his wounds healed with the same supernatural swiftness with which the rest of his body moved. There was pain, terrible pain, but Neji could barely acknowledge the sting as a separate sensation from the hellish throbbing gripping his entire spirit. Ash drifted in sudden eddies as the wind shifted, mixing with the snow, and Neji felt the change so viscerally that for a moment he almost came back to his mind.  
"Sai!" Sakura cried as the world suddenly stilled around them.  
"Sai…?" Neji breathed and looked, out into the endless ranks of ash-clad bodies.  
The artist stood before them, thoroughly soaked in blood and caked with soot, eyes burning from his sockets like demon coals coughed forth from the blackest corner of oblivion. Sai cocked his head and smiled, the expression sincere and almost childlike in its innocence, cracking the blackened obscurity of his face like a flash of moonlight through a storm. Neji coughed and tried to still his shaking hands, waiting for the Hyuuga soldiers to stop staring and renew their attack.  
"Sakura! Neji! You're okay!" Sai shouted in delight.  
"Where's Naruto?" Sakura asked, voice harsh and raw with both smoke and screaming.  
"He sleeps," Sai said mysteriously, "And he needs you."  
Far above them, Sasuke shrieked and Neji felt his heart stop at the sound, knowing the murderer was about to dive. The air above them erupted with sizzling blue lightning and Neji was forced to break his defensive posture in order to redirect Sasuke's attack away from their tree and Sakura's vulnerable body. Ninja screamed in agony as the forest came alight with the azure fury of Sasuke's power, the trees channeling the lightning down to the ground in devastating waves of tearing energy. Neji caught the lightning jutsu and pushed the shock aside, the effort of such a maneuver making his already taxed lungs burn. The Hyuuga ninja used his momentary distraction to shift their positions and suddenly Neji was overwhelmed, fighting opponents from every side even as the lightning continued to snap through the pines. His rhythm had been broken, his balance disrupted and as he stepped away to regain enough balance to strike, Neji saw the lone warrior move for Sakura.  
He tried to move, to counter the blow, but he was caught around his opponent's limbs like an eel trapped in a basket for a split second too long. Sai saw the strike as well and leapt, diving through the air like a slender, black arrow. The artist landed and turned, taking the full brunt of a flawlessly executed Hyuuga Gentle Fist attack directly in the vital chakra meridians of his solar plexus as he shielded Sakura with his body.  
"No!" Neji shrieked, reaching for him, but it was too late.  
The damage was done, the delicate balance of life-force blocked in Sai's body, the damage obvious in Neji's Byukugan enhanced vision. The artist's chakra swirled, quivered and like a candle on a windy night, was snuffed out. Unwilling to believe the horror of what he was seeing, Neji stopped the Byukugan and gazed at the empty face of their precious artist with his naked eyes. Sai smiled and coughed softly, blood welling up in his throat and dripping from his lips, wet and shockingly warm on the bare skin of Neji's shoulder. The Hyuuga genius shook his head as tears clouded his vision, reaching for the other man and holding him, but Neji knew even as his fingers grazed Sai's cheek that he was too late. The artist pressed a single, bloody kiss to Neji's fingers, trembled once and fell lifeless in his arms.  
OoOoOoO  
Naruto felt it, Sai's beloved and painfully foreign presence wink out of his own awareness, present one moment and absent the next. A line grown taught and then snapping, Sai fell away from him into an abyss beyond his senses leaving behind only empty space, a sucking void that sat unfilled and aching in the very center of Naruto's chest. Like being plunged into freezing water, the loss shook Naruto from the monotony of his paralysis and suddenly the Nothing around them was filled with terrible noise and rippling pain. He and Kyuubi rose as one, the loss too stunningly profound for any response more than shocked instinct and primal noise, howling together as the visceral barrenness in the thrall rocked their spirits. Naruto gasped and reached for Sai, for the echo of his being, and touched only a mirage of reverberations from the others in the churning sea of emotions. The jinchuuriki's other mates could see Sai's body and feel his limp form, Naruto was aware of the artist's presence through them, but there was a hole in his own mind where his newest subordinate should be. The alien delicacy of Sai's soul was gone from him, gone like a limb suddenly hacked away and no longer there, like the feeling of his heart stilling to an abrupt and agonizing halt. The jinchuuriki jerked and shrieked, body searching for the link to Sai just as surely as his mind called for him through the thrall, the absence too startling to accept. Sai, Sai was…he was…Sai was not within reach…he was…even though he couldn't be…but he was dead.  
"Sai!" Naruto screamed, reaching out of the blackness.  
"Our mate has been taken, kit." Kyuubi snarled.  
"No!" Naruto screamed as the world shifted and his body became his own again.  
He was waking up, the pain and stiffness of flesh grown too cold and tight in his slumber stabbing through every muscle, the tingling pain of fresh blood returning to his skin washing him in soreness. Naruto's eyelids fluttered, lungs heaving, body heavy and rigid even as the chakra pounded through him like a boiling waterfall. The molten fury consumed him, the howling loss, the aching gash in his being where Sai should be and was so suddenly not. The Fox was with him and for the first time their souls were perfectly in accord, moving together in grief, writhing with the unspeakable anguish of Sai's spiritual silence. Naruto felt a dragging heaviness mixed with the fury and pushed against it, coming back into awareness, the real world raw and cold around him. The sun's warmth was long faded from the sky outside the artist's painted windows, but there was still light enough to burn his eyes, the light of fires reflected against the snowy clouds above.  
Naruto awoke alone in Sai's room, still tangled in the now icy linens where he'd loved the artist seemingly moments before, the faces of the artist's portraits staring back at him and splattered with dried blood. Everything was cold, snow blowing through the open windows and piling into drifts against the floorboards, more like a long abandoned tomb than a bedroom so recently filled with love and laughter. The semen and saliva long dried on his skin cracked unpleasantly as he moved, but Naruto could barely acknowledge the feeling. The real world felt like a pale imitation of the roaring agony within, the terrible loss and quaking chakra more vivid than the darkened images Naruto's mortal eyes carried to his reeling brain.  
"Ahhh! Sai! No! SAI!" Naruto roared, beating his fists against his chest.  
"He is dead." The Fox howled, its fury ricocheting in screeching echoes through Naruto's soul.  
"SAIII!" Naruto wailed.  
"Gone!" The Fox shrieked, thrashing within him as the ache filled them both.  
"No!"  
Sai was dead. His energy was gone. The anger, blossoming hot and horrible in his soul heaved like an earthquake and grew, burning across his skin and scoring his still-tender vision with quivering swathes of furious red. Naruto moved like something rising from the grave, joints cracking one by one in unnatural jerks as his body struggled to respond to the cascading emotion, muscles tense with the rage. Sai was gone, gone from him and there were no boundaries anymore. The place between flesh and spirit, between love and vengeance or even thought and physical intention no longer existed. The Fox was no longer caged within him and the demon moved freely in the man's roiling psyche, a thing of fire and elemental passion, bonded completely with Naruto's own soul. The distinction between the fragile essence of the man and the potent psyche of the god faltered and blurred, their souls twined, spirits synchronized in perfect agreement of purpose. A beloved mate, a piece of self, an appendage and a friend had been taken and all that was left was the ocean of tremendous grief and the heat of the bitter rage which chased it.  
Naruto knew now how Kyuubi had destroyed Konoha, how he had burned the buildings and the helpless people within with no other care than to watch everything before his eyes burn. The pain, the wrath, was so wholly consuming that it seemed everything was burning already and all Naruto could do was fall into the fury. To call the feeling, the transformation boiling from his spirit into his body, merely the desire for vengeance would have been laughable. All the hurt, the shame and the loneliness of Naruto's entire young life seemed to spin and condense into the very core of his being, stealing his breath and sanity as it ignited with of pure rage. With the rage came pounding waves of power, strength such as Naruto had never dared to embrace as a ninja, the kind of elemental force Sasuke had once destroyed himself trying to find.  
The jinchuuriki threw his head back against the slashed sheets and screamed with the horror of it, of a piece of his own beloved soul rent from him, of Sai's unacceptable death and the pouring gouges left behind. His claws lengthened and grew as the joints in his fingers cracked and shifted to accommodate the weapons, his body changing to match the swirling torment within, the Fox in his flesh as it was in his mind. Fangs curved long and razor sharp in his gums as the scarlet film over Naruto's vision spread, staining the paintings in pounding crimson, drenching the lovingly rendered faces in a veil of wrath and impending destruction. Naruto opened himself to the feeling and suddenly it was as if the world moved fully into his awareness, the very molecules of the air in the room alive to his senses, the temperature and magnetism of the element palpable against his fevered skin.  
He felt the tempestuous caress of the wind and draped the shifting currents about his own energy, letting Sai's loss pull the air towards his own being, shivering as the heat from Sasuke's fires echoed in its embrace. The wind stirred around him, aroused by the chaos in Naruto's will and he let it spin, let his anger become the fulcrum for the element as the Fox centered them both. Sakura's curtains were torn from the windows and Sai's brushes scattered onto the floor as the wind gathered and began to howl, revolving tightly and gathering force. The Fox moved with Naruto and the cyclone shifted, bolstered by the demon's focus as he finally stood, turning his scalding crimson vision towards where the sky was alight in the night. The boy and the demon were no longer master and slave, nor student and teacher or even keeper and kept but one as the light is with the day, single and inseparable.  
Together they gasped and grew, stepping out of the broken room filled with the reverberations of Sai's innocent love and through the darkened halls, closing the sliding door with a reverent finger to hush the terrible weeping the open portal seemed to convey. The house filled with the shriek of furious air as they walked, the tapestries flapping on the walls and the chimes ringing like a death knell, but the night was ablaze with bloody radiance to their eyes. They grew as the sorrow and ire grew, waxing too large for the mansion's puny rooms or human sentiments, too large for anything made or worshipped by mortal creatures. As one being, the man and demon stepped out into the snow and darkness, eyes glowing with scarlet brilliance as everything else in the world shrank away and became laughably small. They stood, towering high above the treetops and growing vaster still as they moved out into the world and towards the panicked voices of the mates.  
They walked and the very Earth trembled at their passage. The combined being moved, the rage feeding the winds howling in a spinning cyclone around them, energy and matter melded and expanding as the pain increased with each rending moment of Sai's absence. They grew and walked, gazing above the forest's horizon to where fires raged in the distance and the sounds of battle echoed, colossal in both body and purpose. Their rage was as fundamental as hope and as endless as darkness and the elements bowed as the jinchuuriki gathered the winds to its monstrous will.  
"OUR MATE IS DEAD." Naruto and Kyuubi said together, pulling the air down from the coldest part of the sky to paint their sorrow.  
The air currents surged and rippled against one another, hot and cold, low and high, chaotic forces held together by the almighty power of will and the ageless authority of momentum. Wind, Naruto's familiar element, bent to him as it always had and spun, but Kyuubi gave the technique mass and force as had never been in the world before. They moved and the winds shifted, they breathed and storms gathered high in the air, the fury of the boiling air howling over the land and rallying within the circle of their hands. The jinchuuriki dipped its finger into the maddened air currents, stirring almost lazily, dragging the snowy clouds down to the Earth, unperturbed by the lightning snapping in their midst. The winds obeyed, moved by something more vast than temperature and more cruel than cold, a divine intention as inexorable as time itself.  
To Naruto, the technique was still Rasengan, but infinitely more pure than any he had generated before or alone. The swirling whirlwinds, dark with clouds and fierce with moisture, sprang eagerly from his hands as the true expression of sentient mastery over the elemental power of air. Wind in its original and undiluted form, long forgotten by man, came into the being once again and bent to the fury of the jinchuurki. Indeed, Rasengan was to the massive tornadoes formed by the godlike titan as a spark is to a roaring fire, a mere suggestion of the fully realized power of the element. The gales swirled as darkness came upon the forest, a night darker than any it had known in the thousand years or more, and the mortal creatures below quaked as the combined being moved towards them.  
OoOoOoO  
Sakura shook her head as the world crawled to a stop around her and time seemed to freeze along with the very air in her helpless lungs. Sai buckled before her eyes, body as limp and slender as a paintbrush ruined by the rain as he fell into Neji's waiting arms, silhouette black against the firelight and the pale, falling ash. A look passed between them, a glance that Sakura could not see, but almost felt through the sifting currents of the thrall, a moment of some deeper sentiment and then yawning nothingness where Sai's spirit used to be. Neji cried out, shaking Sai's lifeless body with almost naïve urgency, face painted like a mourners mask with white ash and tears. High above them in the burning obscurity of the trees, Sasuke wheeled and screamed like a falcon struck by an arrow, his voice breaking with agony at the end of the sound. Sakura knew that whatever part of Sasuke's own being remained beneath the evil wept as Sai, a part of their own being, was torn away and the realization suddenly made everything seem horribly real once again.  
Sakura fell to her knees and for another endless moment simply stared at where Neji still held Sai's corpse, the body wilted and awkward and nothing at all like how Sai really was or should be, an empty shell. In death he looked thin and wasted instead of sinuous and graceful, his face chalky and slack instead of doll-like in its blankness. He was wrong, all wrong, his joints obdurate and strange against the soot and snow. Sakura felt her bile rise as her heart dropped, a cavernous shaking settling into her bones that seemed to reverberate deep into the hidden crevices of her soul and deeper still to gouge at the places underneath. The place within the thrall where she could touch him, the texture of the artist's spirit, was inexplicably absent and the farther she grasped to reach him, the deeper the chasm yawned.  
"Sai?" She whispered.  
"He's dead." Neji replied, voice dry like burning paper and face barely human beneath the soot.  
"But…He can't be!" Sakura argued, shaking her head in denial.  
"He is, Sakura. His heart isn't beating and his chakra isn't moving…" Neji whispered.  
"But…he's under the thrall!"  
"They stopped his energy and all the energy in the world counts for nothing if it can't move…" The Hyuuga murmured, almost to himself, voice empty of all inflection.  
Sakura took a breath to answer him or perhaps simply scream, but the wind suddenly shifted and with it came the unmistakable flavor of Naruto's stirring awareness in her own, watching with equal disbelief and swiftly growing rage. She felt Naruto wail and reach for Sai's essence just as she did, touching only chilling space and shocked by the absence, but the primitive tremor of disbelief did not last long. The feeling, the pain and horror, seemed to condense within her husband's mind and suddenly there was more of him in the thrall than there had ever been before and all of it filled with elemental anger and searing malice. She gasped, gritting her teeth. Sai had been struck from them and Naruto meant to kill everyone and everything he set his claws upon until the artist was returned to him. The response was human in the character of Naruto's desire, but a thousand times more powerful, elemental in purity and profoundly dangerous. Sakura swallowed around her suddenly dry tongue as the wind began to build, moving towards the east and the jinchuuriki's indomitable call.  
Death was coming on that wind, the air cold and sour with the destruction yet to come, a massacre like no one in Konoha had ever seen before and would never be able to forget in this lifetime or the next. Sasuke's mad laughter rang through the trees and another volley of blue lightning crackled through the snowy air as Naruto's rage stirred and gathered the air. Sakura shivered and reached for Neji's hand as the Hyuuga forces cried to one another in ever growing agitation and moved to prepare a new defense against the coming assault. Sakura could have laughed. She already knew that no barrier in the world would help them. Naruto was coming and he was bringing the kind of fury she had vainly hoped never to feel in his heart, death of the sort Gaara had once visited on his enemies, but a thousand times more potent. What would happen today would be worse than anything Gaara had ever done, worse because it was Naruto and Naruto was bonded with Kyuubi instead of Shukaku, a demon far greater and infinitely more powerful.  
Nothing could bring Sai back. Nothing could restore Sai to any of them and so Naruto would destroy until the insatiable hole of his loss was filled, but there was not enough blood in the entire world to ease that kind of grief. The true power of a jinchuuriki had been unleashed and all Sakura could do was pray that Naruto still had enough compassion left in his spirit to save him from committing an atrocity he, himself, could never forgive. Neji glanced at his kinsmen, face contracted into a grimace, shoulders shaking with his still-silent sobbing. Sakura looked as well, at the frightened eyes and quivering fingers of the invaders, the murderers who were also Neji's loved ones. She firmed her jaw and managed to stand even with the awful hole in her heart and Naruto's quaking vengeance thick within her soul. Hiashi's soldiers were misguided, but their deaths and a thousand more would not return Sai to her arms and they would all die if they stayed to face the full force of Naruto's gathering wrath. She had to try.  
"Sakura," Neji whispered fearfully, still gripping her hand around Sai's empty body, "What's happening?"  
"Naruto is coming." She replied. Neji put a hand over his mouth.  
"I…I feel like I'm hurt…" Neji winced and muttered, gasping as Naruto's fury surged through them again.  
"We are all hurt," She said softly, squeezing his shoulder, "Badly hurt and Naruto will hurt back if he can..."  
"Kami, no…" Neji moaned, shaking almost uncontrollably against her fingers.  
"Get out of here!" She cried to the huddled Hyuuga forces, voice only cracking at the end.  
"Like hell!"  
"Oni bitch!" One of them spat.  
"It's a trick!"  
"Don't listen to her!"  
"Go now or you will all be killed!" She shouted, louder.  
"Yes, death! Death issss on the way! Hahaha!" Sasuke shrieked, flying over them and up into the roaring hurricane steadily gathering above them  
"Please go! Go now!" Sakura yelled, her shrieking voice lost in the wind.  
The air churned, like a wakening typhoon, whipping Sakura's tattered clothing in stinging slaps against her thighs and spinning the wind above them with enough force to nearly tear her feet from the ground. Sakura crouched low again, ducking out of the shrieking storm as much as possible to wrap her arms around Neji and also around Sai's lifeless shell, to hold her men as best she could as death moved closer. The wind grew, roared, and the only comfort was the strength of the brunette's arm winding around her shoulders. They held each other tightly and wept as darkness gathered and the carnage Sakura had felt in Naruto's soul came at last, the deafening wail of the furious air almost drowning out the cries of pain and terror.  
OoOoOoO  
Kiba Inuzuka heard the terrified shrieking of the Hyuuga forces off to the west, but forced himself to ignore the din in favor of continuing the search for his own missing and, most likely, drowned, soldiers. The course of the river had shifted substantially, it's curvature now arching dramatically to the east with the water spreading wide and shallow across what had once been a broad flood plain. The dense steam rising from the choppy surface, evidence of scalding hot-springs mixing chaotically with frigid snowmelt, was only growing thicker as the ambient temperature continued to drop and Kiba could barely see an inch beyond his own nose. Calling for the boys would have given away his position in an instant and Kiba had no intention of fighting another of Sasuke's freakishly strong clones, but the sulfur of the springs was confounding his nose. The only recourse left was to systematically search the canal piece by piece and hope to Kami that at least a few of them were still alive somewhere in the river.  
Akamaru whined at his side, catching another brief whiff of the Hyuuga boys' scent, but losing the trail almost immediately as they were forced to cross yet another luke-warm puddle filled with mud, sulfur and other things Kiba didn't want to think about. The bank was littered with dead fish, caught on the bank when the river moved or simply stunned into an early demise the by destruction the fang had caused to their watery home. He hated being responsible for any needless death, but Kiba figured the stench was probably karma enough for the time being. The only bit of luck he'd had since defeating Sasuke's clone was that whatever atrocity was happening in the western woods was still keeping both Hiashi and Naruto's forces fully occupied. Nevertheless, the dog lord knew he was running out of time. The only way this total stupidity would end was with Naruto's death, giving Hiashi the freedom to hunt him down and skin him like a rabid animal, or with the utter destruction of the Hyuuga clan by a furious jinchuuriki bent on finishing off every living thing still inside his borders. In either case, he needed to get back to the Inuzuka compound with whatever number of his tough little brats managed to survive and regroup in time to save Hinata.  
Clinging unhappily to Akamaru as the man and dog pulled each other from the icy mud, Kiba finally heard a sound other than the roaring of the new rapids or the wind howling through the trees. Narrowing his eyes, he pulled himself fully onto Akamaru's back with an undignified squelch and motioned for the dog to be still and quiet as he listened. The sound came again, softer than before, but unmistakably human. Akamaru's ears rose inquisitively and the dog was practically quivering with the repressed desire to bark back. Even if his own senses were muddled, Kiba trusted his dog's response too much to simply ignore the possibility that the little sound they had both heard was something important. Biting his lip, Kiba decided to gamble on the chance that his teenage warriors were still alive somewhere in the swirling steam of the river water and motioned for Akamaru to bark.  
The gigantic dog rose onto his hind feet and let out a series of shout, loud, carrying barks that echoed through the trees and above the din of the heaving currents. Those barks brought a half smile to Kiba's face as he remembered the way Akamaru had used the same noise to call for him as a lost puppy so long ago, the same sound used now to hunt for the missing young of their pack. Kiba waited for what felt like a decade, so still he almost forgot to breathe, and just as he was about to turn away the sound came again. The dog lord clearly heard the sound of someone sneezing and grinned widely enough to crack the mud drying on his face. Whining with excitement, Akamaru barked again.  
"Kiba-sama!?" The voice carried over the sound of the river, if barely.  
"Boys! Ya out there?" Kiba hissed, careful not to project his voice too much since their position was anything, but safe.  
"Here!" The voice was very obviously Aki's and Kiba moved towards the sound eagerly.  
The stench of sulfur was heavy in the air and he was tempted to tie a bandana over his nose as Kiba urged Akamaru over a small embankment and beyond a copse of trees frosted eerily with the drifting mists. The darkness was compounded by both the smoke of Sasuke's distant attacks and the billowy steam from the river, almost too dark for vision to be of any benefit at all, but Kiba could not smell anything around the sulfur to guide them. He crept forward and nearly pitched headfirst into the small eddy pool hidden in what had probably once been a nice meadow surrounded by thick pine trees. Coughing, Kiba pulled Akamaru up short, feeling the giant dog's feet scrabbling for purchase on the slick mud beneath the water. The heat of the pool was shocking after the biting chill in the air and it billowed up through the steam, falling against Kiba's face almost like fine rain, the condensation beading onto his hair and the long fur of his cloak almost instantaneously.  
"Boys?" Kiba whispered, winding his fingers more deeply into Akamaru's fur to stem the trembling anxiety that suddenly gripped him.  
He had heard Aki's voice, he was certain, but the frail sound seemed so distant after the many minutes of sodden struggling and the Kiba could not keep himself from wondering if it had been the voice of a spirit instead of a living boy. He peered out into the steamy darkness, biting his lip until it bled and wondering how many of his unfortunate soldiers had died thanks to the reckless chaos of his attack, how many were lying injured and unable to call for help. What if Aki was the only one alive and Yumi and the others were torn to pieces at the bottom of the river? What if he was only chasing the echoes of their restless spirits? Kiba swallowed hard and tried to get a grip on himself. There was nothing else he could have done and it was far too early to be taking body counts anyway. Boys or bodies, he had to find them.  
"Brats?!" He called again, more loudly, voice nearly cracking.  
"We're here!" Aki shouted, swimming over to him in the darkness with long, silent strokes like a damn eel.  
"Kiba-Sama!" Yumi's delighted voice followed him.  
Kiba peered through the water as Akamaru yipped excitedly and dove into the eddy pool without an ounce of hesitation, causing a titanic splash that practically rattled his rider's teeth, legs pumping hard as he swam. The boys swam closer forming a loose ring around the dog, laughing quietly around their own chattering teeth. The water was warm, warm enough to prevent full hypothermia, but it certainly wasn't what Kiba would have called cozy and the sooner they were out of it and in Inuzuka furs the better.  
"Not much time brats, who's alive and who's dead?" Kiba asked, hating the way their laughter fell eerily silent.  
"Tohru's dead." Someone whispered miserably.  
"I know that! What about the rest of ya?" Kiba snapped, his nerves finally finding their way into his voice.  
"Sound off, quietly." Yumi ordered in a whisper.  
"Aki, here."  
"Kaze here."  
"Sarotobi here, my leg is broken though…"  
"Ayame…"  
"Genjiro…"  
Kiba listened to them, counting anxiously on his fingers until he heard the last name, unaware that he'd stopped breathing during the roll-call until there were spots dancing in front of his eyes. He sighed and it was almost a sob. They were all there, all alive and only a few injuries, and it was the one possibility he'd not allowed himself to hope for. Akamaru yipped happily and nuzzled the boys in the water as they swam, worrying over this fractured leg or that laceration with the kind of affection the dog normally reserved only for little Toki.  
"We formed a swimming circle and clung together, just like you told us, and then when the waves came we were able to ride them for the most part." Aki reported excitedly.  
"Genjiro can't swim, though, so we had to hold him up." Yumi added thoughtfully.  
"I can swim, jerks!" The boys in question hissed.  
"That's not swimming, cousin." Aki teased.  
"Whatever keeps you above the damn water!"  
"Well done, brats. We may just live through this." Kiba whispered, interrupting them and suddenly tired.  
Even as he said it, the roaring wind increased in volume and one of the trees in the distance cracked across its middle and fell with a monstrous crash that sent ripples through the little eddy pool in warning. Kiba raised his nose and sniffed, the wind clearing the stench of sulfur away for a single breath of something that smelled like a storm, like the cold air that came from the highest places in the sky. The shrieking winds ceased them then, weirdly silent for a single heartbeat, and Kiba felt death itself run its rheumy claws up his spine. Urging Akamaru up and out of the water, Kiba moved back up onto the bank until he found a reasonably bulky hillock and then urged the giant dog onto his hind legs, standing himself and searching the darkness.  
What Kiba saw was something the dog lord would never be able to fully describe. A figure of wind and glowing eyes, human in shape and far larger than even his own combined form, lumbered across the landscape with deadly intent, it's nine tails swishing menacingly. Dancing about the spirit-beast's feet like puppies around their master were nine fully formed tornadoes, spinning tightly with lightning crackling in their hearts. The creature walked like a man, but it's claws were long and sharp with the same tempered air Naruto hurled in Rasengan, the left arm covered in strangely glowing markings that swirled all the way up to whirl in the center of its chest. Eyes like a very mouth of hell burned in the night, a shade paler than Sasuke's fire and filled with malice. The air left Kiba's lungs in a frenzied rush and for a moment all he could do was stare uselessly at the godlike monster his childhood friend had become, a being made entirely of wind and anger.  
The being, air and wind made into flesh, was like the old gods of his Grandmother's fireside tales, like a true demon, and Kiba quaked like a child to see it. Naruto walked and the trees bowed before him, the surging air ripping through their bows like a spoon through soup, setting the entire forest astir like the waves of the very ocean in a storm. The darksome creature moved its limbs, swirling air colored by smoke and leaves and the sheer density of so much power released into a single form, glowing dully against the snowy sky. The horn calling for retreat sounded from the other side of the river, blaring urgently through the forest, but Kiba knew that very few would be able to escape. Naruto's true power had finally been unveiled and it was truly monstrous to behold. The creature's eyes fell upon him for a moment, single glance of recognition, but that one burning look was enough to haunt Kiba Inuzuka's nightmares for the rest of his life. The thing Naruto had become fixed him with its glowing eyes and the very blood in Kiba's veins trembled. The man slid from Akamaru's back like one possessed, falling low to his knees in supplication, bowing low even as his dog followed suite without anything like conscious intention. They bowed, pressed to the mud, and Naruto turned his/its attention back to the fleeing Hyuuga troops.  
After another heartbeat, the wind returned in earnest, blowing like the fiercest of hurricanes and Kiba barely managed to struggle to his feet. He swallowed and moved back towards the eddy pool, not even pausing to look at the elemental being lumbering towards his wife's kinsmen, and practically dove into the lukewarm water.  
"What's going on?" Aki asked.  
"Is a storm coming?" Yumi asked.  
"Ain't no storm brats!" Kiba hollered over the wind, "When I change, get onto my back! We've just run out of time!"  
"Change?" Yumi asked, but Kiba did not waste the seconds to answer him.  
"Human Beast Combination!" He shouted to Akamaru and the dog barked in assent.  
Akamaru was suddenly with Kiba in his mind, present in his spirit as if they had never been two creatures at all, filling him with a wellspring of strength and a powerful sense of urgency. Their bodies aligned, muscle synchronized into a single from, voices matched and resonant in their throats. Akamaru and Kiba fell into one another the way the dog lord sometimes fell into the comfort of his bed, easily and without even the hint of resistance, and with their merger came an animal understanding Kiba had somehow forgotten in his human body. They breathed as one and the awareness of what the dog perceived came to him with sudden, shocking clarity even as the two headed beast stood up and out of the eddy pool, shaking its fur as if the water was nothing greater than a puddle. Kiba knew Naruto with an instinct deeper than any he had felt before, he knew him through Akamaru, and the dog did not perceive the jinchuuriki as a man or even as a demon. To Akamaru, Naruto was the very essence of their world taken form and moving, the closest the great dog had to a god.  
Kiba shivered and whined with the notion even as his Hyuuga war-puppies laughed in delight at his combined form and scrambled up onto his back. The urge to flee, to run like prey, was tremendous, but Kiba used his human logic to stay the instinct until all the boys were well seated on his and Akamaru's combined back. After they were all huddle down into hiw thick fur, however, Kiba ran as he had never run before and felt Akamaru's terror coursing through his mind for the first time.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In accord with Kyuubi, Naruto wreaks devastation on the battlefield and releases Sasuke from the Seal of Heaven. The loss of a precious loved one is mourned, but Naruto is not satisfied and, in his grief, makes the decision to bring war back to Hyuuga.

Hanyou are commonly thought to be both loathsome and relatively fragile creatures, dying easily in childhood of illness, starvation or general abuse far more often than persisting into adulthood to realize the full extent of their powers. The hybrid creatures are more prone to illness than their fully demon counterparts and require far more food than human children, these characteristics detract from their survivability and are reasonably well established. However, there is so little information in existence concerning the physiology of hanyou as mature adults that any judgment about the viability of such individuals is impossible to make. The same high intake requirements, which hamper an immature half-demon, may indicate the potential for greater chakra reserve and attack capability in the adult form as it does in full demons. The propensity for illness early in life may, by the same reasoning, serve as a mechanism for immune resilience during full development as it does in humans. While many argue, I among them, that hanyou are best considered to be an aberration of nature rather than any true or distinct species, the argument for their overall inferiority is wholly unsupported given the general paucity of evidence on the subject. So few hanyou survive past the first tremulous years of life that the question of both the character and extent of their abilities has remained largely unanswered and does, of course, vary tremendously upon the lineage of the individual in question. Some demons, such as dog demons, develop incredible stamina and several hanyou offspring have indicated that this is a trait passed on in the human-hybrid condition as well. The attributes of other demons, however, may be infinitely more subtle and difficult to assess. Certain snake demons can excrete poison that simply muddle a victim's awareness instead of causing death or any kind of permanent impairment. Ink demons, at least from little is contained in the reports written before the extinction of the species, indicate that the creatures were imbued with the ability to bend their form to accommodate any environmental challenge. Subtle features such as these may escape notice in a hanyou for years and, given the vanishing rarity of the creatures, it is not unreasonable to assume that the half-breed itself may be ignorant of its own, unique, adaptations.  
-Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons  
Hiashi watched as the trees began to fall in the distance and the sky darkened above them, spinning in an ever condensing maelstrom and filled with sporadic forks of blue lightning, the distant screams of his own soldiers almost lost in the roaring air. The reports coming from the main offensive were largely favorable, indicating that the oni female had been found and cornered with only a single subordinate protecting her in a sub-optimal position. The scouts also mentioned, however, that the lone subordinate happened to be Neji and that his powerful nephew was heavily compelled by the thrall, fighting with every ounce of spirit and genius he possessed. Hiashi received the report, but knew immediately that the information was no longer current, that something else had happened on his battle front to shift the meager advantage he spent lost so many lives to gain. The change in wind and the shadowy foreboding creeping over his skin was more than reason enough to change strategy, Hiashi listened to his instincts, but the problem was finding a strategy that was still viable given the heavy losses the Hyuuga warriors already endured. The Hyuuga leader grit his teeth and tried to wait patiently for the next report, which was already well over-due, without allowing his mind to consider the many ways in his scout might be being dismembered.  
The other subordinates, at least thus far, were being contained and Hiashi was reasonably confident that they could be put down or at least managed until he could find an opening and kill the alpha female. Neji said that with her all the others would fall, that her life was bonded to Naruto as his was to the others, that Sakura was the key to destroying Naruto and the unnatural infestation he brought to Konoha. Granted, slaying the surgeon almost certainly meant killing Neji too, but sometimes even the greatest weapon was forged only to be tossed aside in favor of securing overall victory, the ever changing field of battle often called for sacrifices. To kill Naruto, Hiashi would give up any weapon, any pawn, any price Kami-sama demanded and more if it meant never looking into the familiar blue of the Jinchuuriki's eyes over the bargaining table or dreaming of Kushina again. Hiashi could cry over the loss of his nephew later, after he had managed to kill the demon and its hell-spawn mates, but for now the objective remained unchanged.  
Even under ideal conditions, Neji could only hold a position for so long hampered as he was by Sakura's general immobility, and with the careful maneuvering of Hiashi's soldiers the oni female would be quickly overcome. The question remaining in his and everyone's mind was the significance of Naruto's rather shocking absence on the field. Hiashi fervently hoped that the jinchuuriki was too badly taxed from fucking the pale painter to fight, to even stand, but Naruto's weakness after mating was certainly not a certitude he could trust. Madara might have been an ageless corpse lord spat up from the most noxious corner of hell, but the man had been intelligent and there was much to be learned from his failed efforts to take Kyuubi three years ago. Hiashi remembered the undead Uchiha's insight into how the bonding weakened a jinchuuriki tremendously, how the task of mating made the creature vulnerable to attack and ultimately destruction. Now, however, Hiashi thought the advantage was perhaps less impressive than the Uchiha abomination had one implied given that whatever strength the demon itself lost seemed to be imbued upon its thrice damned subordinates.  
The three captive males were practically destroying his army on their own, crushing every formation sent against them without their master even setting foot onto the field, and the battle dragging on far longer than he had originally intended. Even without communication, without any kind of discernable organization, the three men complimented one another in battle almost subconsciously. Hiashi knew his own people could not last much longer. They needed to kill the female and it was the universe's own irony that Neji, the greatest warrior clan Hyuuga had produced in a generation or more, was the subordinate enthralled to protect Sakura. Hiashi's meticulous nephew was surely the most dangerous of all Naruto's whores and also the one Hiashi had put directly into the jinchuuriki's hands as a means to gather information and destabilize the Uzumaki clan as a whole. He sighed. The gods were cruel.  
The scout Hiashi sent out almost an hour before finally made his way out of the forest, clutching what looked like a very serious burn on his left arm and walking like a man deep into his cups and nearing collapse. The man's clothing was still smoking sluggishly, and the stench of charred hide washed over Hiashi's nose in the swirling wind, but the soldier's skin was so thoroughly stained with ash that the Hyuuga leader could not discern if it was burning armor or flesh he smelled. Hiashi grimaced, but felt a small beat of satisfaction that his operative had managed to survive at all. The scout walked tentatively and eventually succeeded in limping close enough to the battle line Hiashi was still holding in reserve that the other nin were able to catch him without breaking ranks as he collapsed. His senior nin gasped in shock as the scout's headgear was removed and Hiashi knew that his hardened veterans would only behave that way if the injury was very ugly. He cursed loudly as the call went up for a medical nin and the medics began pushing their way through the ranks. Hopefully the damn scout would at least live long enough to relay what he'd seen.  
"Scout! Report!" Hiashi bellowed as he strode purposefully towards where a cluster of his best soldiers were milling around their fallen cousin like frightened children.  
"My lord, the man is badly injured, I'm not sure he should be made to speak…" One of the veterans muttered as he stood, eyes shuttered and expression guarded.  
"Speaking is his purpose, dammit, now move." Hiashi hissed, pushing the man aside.  
The scout looked up at him from the ground, pale face coated thickly with blood still gushing generously from an appalling head wound, the ghostly fragments of fractured skull clinging to his hair and torn skin. Hiashi swallowed hard against the rising pressure in his stomach and narrowly avoided being ill on the spot. War was ugly and he chided himself for even being surprised.  
"Hiashi…sama…" The scout gasped, voice like dry leaves stirred in the wind.  
"Report." Hiashi ordered, more quietly, as someone turned away and began vomiting behind his right shoulder.  
"Naruto…the Oni…he is coming…"  
"Is he weakened as we expected?" Hiashi asked, wishing vainly that he could remember the man's name as it would certainly help him to focus.  
"No…not weak…" The scout muttered, lapsing into unconsciousness.  
"Shit…" The patriarch snarled.  
"My lord, please…" Someone's hand tugged on his shoulder, but Hiashi shrugged it off.  
"Scout! Report! What is his position?!" Hiashi snarled, shaking the dying man.  
The scout's eyes fluttered open at the noise and he whimpered a little, but the pupil of the man's right eye was already completely dilated, an early herald of massive damage in his brain and impending death. Hiashi cursed, snapping his fingers in front of the scout's bleary face, ignoring how his senior nin bit their lips and looked away in obvious discomfort. Now was not the time for delicacy and the others could judge him as they dared.  
"Naruto…he is very powerful, very angry, very big…"  
"You aren't making any sense! His POSITION dammit! What is it!?" Hiashi hissed.  
"Position?" The scout giggled a bit madly, "He's…so vast…he's everywhere. Position…everywhere…sir."  
"What fuck does that mean?!" Hiashi railed, but the scout was already dead and limp in his hands.  
"My lord, the man was dying. He didn't know what he was saying." One of the veteran nin whispered, closing the corpse's eyes gently with a trembling hand.  
"I'm not so sure," Hiashi said tightly, looking at the gathering storm.  
"Lord, what would you have us do?" Someone asked, softly, as if the words were shameful.  
Hiashi ground his teeth, silent and uncertain. He still had no real information, no way to make an appropriate decision or gauge relative merits of one strategy over another, and the body slowly cooling on the ground in front of them was the only scout he had left. Sasuke was still alive, Hiashi could hear the metal-rending shriek of the black haired devil occasionally, the sound louder and even more gut-wrenching than the roaring winds. The subordinate's presence could only mean that Sakura was alive as well and, with Naruto finally joining the fray, the Hyuuga forces would be hard pressed to eliminate her. They'd sustained heavy losses already and, if the semi-coherent scout was to be believed in any capacity, the jinchuuriki was not weakened or drained as Hiashi had initially hoped. The situation was collapsing and victory might be impossible to achieve without Hiashi joining the battle front personally, along with every living ninja house Hyuuga still possessed, and even then the chance was small. Too small.  
"Retreat." The Hyuuga clan-head whispered, dragging the command through his teeth.  
"My lord?" His commander asked, eyes wide with shock.  
"I said retreat. Now." Hiashi hissed and the call went out.  
OoOoOoO  
The creature Sasuke had become felt gorged, maddened, drunk on blood and manic with the roaring violence echoing through the desert of his mind. The shattering pain of Sai's loss still rang through his chakra as well, a feeling even deeper than malice and ten times as complex, something the Seal had no ability to understand. The rage pulsed through his being, more pure and terrible than any anger he had ever of his own, more dark and seething than even the most desolate parts of his own soul. Naruto had succumbed. Naruto hated. Naruto was destroying, tearing life away with glorious cruelty, and Sasuke could not resist the temptation of so much wanton obliteration. To resist and then be consumed, the magnetism of the feeling too much to bear, such was the order of his life and the monster laughed at the sheer irony of it. The Seal loved only darkness and pain, but now there was more than it could contain, more than even its own passionate host had ever wielded.  
Chidori sparked and snapped from his hands, the lightning almost moving with a will of its own, master to nothing except the almighty rage and the void beyond. He writhed in the air, slamming into the unyielding trunk of a ghost-like pine, the rage filling every part of the seal and pushing for more room in his tormented soul. Sasuke laughed and then screamed, buffeted by the winds, spinning helplessly in the maelstrom. He was falling, the Seal Of Heaven glutted and bursting with too much, too much vehemence, the blackness seeping and drowning him…Drowning them…Oh, Kami, which was it?! He screamed or perhaps laughed, body heaving too violently in the tearing air to be certain which, all sense of space and gravity lost in the tilting darkness sweeping over his vision. Within it all, something small and broken shivered in the blackness and wept and called for Sai, someone much beloved and irreplaceable. The Seal could not understand…  
There was a tortured breath, a preparation for another shriek, and then suddenly everything was still and quiet, the roaring hurricane replaced by a balmy sort of buoyancy in the air and golden light. The air beneath his wings was warm, gentle and a little humid like a spring morning with the promise of rain, the scent of it sweet and nourishing. He was no longer falling, or even actively flying for that matter, but held in a caressing blanket of wind and swirling, white mist. Sasuke stirred and twitched as the blackness within spun and fought against the bands of feeling slowly caging it, stifling it, forcing it back so he could finally breathe. He gasped and sobbed a little.  
"Shhh…sleep, baby…sleep…" The voice was vast, thick and resonant like thunder.  
"Naruto?" Sasuke whimpered.  
The air was lifting him, and Sasuke slowly opened his eyes to see the vast amber gaze lingering above him, the gargantuan creature surveying him with a familiar kind of exasperation. Sasuke felt the Seal slowly release his mind, its poison drawn away with the force of the thrall like venom sucked expertly from a fresh wound, his psyche raw, but clean. He groaned as his body began the painful transformation, wings slowly melting back into his back and claws sinking into his fingers, the pain of a thousand tiny injuries a slow herald to the true agony yet to come. Sasuke moaned with the pain, but the monster within was finally locked safely back into its prison and being free of its poison was worth all the suffering in the world. Naruto pulled him close, his trembling body cloistered in an isolated pocket of air, wounds soothed and mind filled with nothing except brightness and affection.  
"Naruto…Oh…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry!" Sasuke sobbed, lying on his back in the cavity of wind Naruto had built for him and too exhausted to even turn away.  
"Don't apologize, my Teme. Sleep now." Naruto's thunder-voice purred as the vast eyes filled his vision.  
"Sai…" Sasuke struggled, reaching up to the glowing eyes.  
"Shhh…our vengeance will come, love. It will come…" Naruto promised and the chilly tone of his voice frightened Sasuke far more than the fact that his alpha had turned into a storm god.  
"No…" Sasuke pleaded, reaching, "Please no…"  
Naruto shushed him again, the sound coming from everywhere and filling his bones with the gentle thrumming, the resonating suggestion to sleep and forget. Sasuke cried softly as the jinchuuriki pulled his trembling body into the swirling winds of its own form, holding him like Sakura held their unborn baby, protected and lulled. Darkness fell and he fought it, trying to stay awake, trying to make Naruto understand that vengeance was not the way, but the effort was futile. Sasuke slept and dreamt of nothing.  
OoOoOoO  
Sakura watched as the air surged and roared with unholy ferocity, gathering more mass and momentum with each passing moment, tearing the oxygen from her very lungs with every heave of maddened air that swept past them. The clouds darkened and spun above the naked branches of the winter forest, the hurricane hurling snow in stinging needles against the naked skin of the woman's face, as the Hyuuga troops slowly began to rally for a retreat. Naruto's presence sang in her body almost like when they were making love, but now the melody was filled with darkness and anger, wrath, instead of the glowing passion she usually felt. He was on the warpath, like a cyclone tearing its way through Grass country, and feeling the full might of the jinchuuriki turned wholly to destruction made her very bone marrow quake. Sakura felt him, felt him move closer with each passing heartbeat, vast as a tidal wave and a thousand times more destructive. The kunoichi pressed a quivering palm against her own distended belly, feeling the press of her daughter's tiny hand against her own, the touch of the little life so persistent inside her. Sakura bit her lip. She was safe, she and the baby both, but what about all the other babies? What about all the sons and fathers already lying dead in the snow?  
There was no word for what Naruto was feeling, no single name to name the roaring in his soul, but even the echoes of the emotion were enough to send aching spears of borrowed violence and hatred ricocheting through Sakura's belly. Naruto was out of control and he would destroy everything, everyone, unless she acted to stop him and even then all her efforts might not be enough. The Fox had returned in all its godlike fury to Konoha and with Naruto synchronized to the powerful demon, bonded as they were now, there was no force man possessed that would stop them. The terrible risk she'd taken with Sasuke, a delicate demonstration of trust and love, was the only kind of sacrifice that had any chance of appease him. The deadly gamble would have to be made again, but this time Sakura would not be playing for her own life. No, all the lives of Konoha and maybe even the surrounding provinces, maybe even every city within a thousand miles, every baby and every mother, every person who lived under the raging sky rested in her hands. Sakura firmed her jaw and moved to stand.  
"Sakura! What are you DOING woman!?" Neji shrieked, pulling at her, but unwilling to release Sai's corpse.  
"Naruto! It's enough! NARUTO!" Sakura screamed.  
The wind tore at her and the girl stumbled, caught only by the solid strength of Neji's hand. The Hyuuga's fingers were bruising against her arm, but the silver-eyed nin was warm and still in a world suddenly gone mad with motion and with horrible noise. The roaring storm was too loud to discern one sound from another, but Sakura filled her lungs and cried out again, pushing her voice louder than before.  
"NARUTO! STOP! PLEASE!" She wailed.  
"Sakura! Sit down!" Neji pleaded.  
"No! We have to stop him!" She shouted.  
"We can't! He's unstoppable, Sakura! He'll destroy everything and…It's…It's FATE!" Neji cried, the wind whipping the tears from his eyes.  
"FUCK fate, Neji!" Sakura roared, "What if this…what if THIS is your fate?"  
The Hyuuga turned away, expression stricken. Sakura tried to still the trembling in her jaw, the quivering ache of too much adrenaline making her muscles feel tight and strained with just the effort of standing in Naruto's gale. Around them, Hyuuga soldiers were being torn from the ground and the trees, sucked into the swirling vortex approaching from the main house, their terrified cries made mute in the cacophony of Naruto's rage. As strong at the wind felt, she and Neji were actually in the eye of the jinchuuriki's unnatural storm, protected from any real danger.  
"Baby PLEASE! Don't hurt your people! They're YOUR PEOPLE!" Sakura cried.  
"He can't hear you! He can't hear anything!" Neji shouted, shielding Sai's dead face from the gruesome spectacle.  
Sakura was trying to find enough air to scream out for him again when suddenly everything around them went perfectly, shockingly, terrifyingly still. The leaves still spinning in the air drifted sluggishly for a few more circles and then fell to the ground, as soft and benign as summer raindrops against her chapped skin. Sakura gasped, startled, trying to regain her bearings. The air was warm and a little humid as the snow began to melt and fall in a gentle mist, blanketing the world in a sheer film of white fog. Shaking, Sakura raised her eyes up above the trees, meeting the huge, glowing yellow gaze of her husband burning through the flashing clouds far above them. She recognized him immediately and smiled. Despite the titanic being he had become, despite the surreal way the white mist curled into the pattern of whiskers on his face, the monstrous creature was still Naruto and Naruto loved her. The corners of the immense, burning eyes turned up in an alien show of affection and Sakura reached up to him with instinctual need, the tears hot on her cheeks and heart aching. He was her's, herhusband, and she was not afraid.  
"Oh…Naruto…" She whispered and suddenly they were floating.  
"Shit!" Neji shrieked, gripping Sai's empty shell like it would be torn away from him as the Hyuuga's long hair was blown up away from his face.  
"Shhh, it's okay….it's okay! It's Naruto." Sakura said, feeling the unreasonable urge to giggle like a crazy person.  
"Naruto?" Neji asked, looking up, his expression tight with terror.  
Soft currents of air, warm and loving, surged up beneath them, pulling Sakura's weight up from the ground and suspending her above the ground. The kunoichi's long hair whipped around her face as the bubble of wind condensed and became firm, holding her body comfortably and protecting her from everything except the warm light of Naruto's eyes. Neji was pulled into an orb of air as well, slowly drawn away from Sai's body inch, by minute inch, with a force as inexorable as gravity until the Hyuuga's white fingers slipped away from the artist's smoldering clothes. Neji struggled, fighting the pull, reaching for Sai like one possessed. Sakura could see Neji screaming, sobbing, beating his fists helplessly against the cloistered pocket of air Naruto had made for him, but she couldn't hear his cries. Everything was silent in the tiny sanctuary where Naruto held her, held her like she held the baby in her own womb, secluded and protected. Neji rammed the Gentle Fist into the wall of wind, but the energy barely causes a ripple in the thick airstream. Sakura could almost feel his frustration and pressed a hand up against the wall of air, hoping the gesture would soothe the Hyuuga.  
Neji raised his hand as well, still sobbing so hard that his shoulders trembled. Sakura wished that Naruto had chosen to hold them together, that she could hold Neji in her arms and run her fingers through his hair. As it was, they knelt together in the floating cups of air, hands pressed in mimicry, filling the space between with aching emotion. They were completely separated, though only a hand's breadth away, each held like a bee in its honeycomb. Sai's body was lifted as well, a tiny, crumpled heap of smoke blackened flesh and dark clothing slowly ascending up and past their own position, eventually past the limits Sakura's vision too. Naruto pulled him up, above the swirling white of the mist, and for the first time she could not deny that Sai was gone. Neji wept, the heel of his free hand pressed hard against his own eyes, hair damp with tears. Sakura bit off a wail of her own at the sight.  
Naruto was inspecting him, she knew it, knew that the jinchuuriki was still in denial that their beloved one could be dead. Naruto would look and he would see, just as Neji had, that the artist was well and truly gone and then…then everyone in Konoha would die. She swallowed hard and felt her mouth go dry, the grief an endless well drawing her down even as Naruto pulled her up into the skies. They ascended a bit more, enough for the light of the waning moon to penetrate the clouds and suddenly Neji was on his feet, eyes fixed out into the upper boughs of the forest. Sakura felt her heart stutter at the shock of emotion radiating from the Hyuuga. A few feet away, Neji screamed, all the color drawn out of his face. Sakura waved, trying to get his attention, but it was like the Hyuuga could not see her. Neji was tearing at his hair and clawing bleeding gauges in his cheeks as he wailed, body quaking and unsteady, but he was no longer looking up and after Sai's body. Instead, the Hyuuga's gaze was fixed out into the trees and his face was a mask of horror and remorse.  
An unbearable swell of shame rose up within her like a tsunami of blood and crashed through Sakura's awareness, the feeling worse than pain, worse than any other feeling she had ever known, and for a terrible moment she only wanted to die. Gasping, Sakura followed Neji's gaze out into the smoky ambiguity of the trees, almost knowing what she would see and dreading the terrible spectacle even before her eyes alighted on the first victim. The dark arms of the trees seemed menacing the miasma of smoke, snow and mist wrought by Naruto's storm, their black branches like clawed fingers. For a long moment, Sakura's mind refused to allow her to interpret the sight and then…Kami…A sob wracked her as she finally understood what Neji was seeing and a heartbeat or more passed before Sakura's burning lungs managed to breathe again.  
The kunoichi looked and the horror only grew as she managed to make out the other balls, each like her own and occupied by a single Hyuuga ninja writhing in agony. Hundreds of spheres of isolated air filled the forest, all constructed like her own, but instead of warmth and comfort Naruto filled the floating chambers of the captured soldiers with pain. Naruto was torturing them, tormenting each soldier individually and yet simultaneously, hurting them in ways that would have made even the most brutal ANBU officer weep. She tried to look away, but Sakura couldn't seem to close her eyes, the image burned onto the lids like the after-image of lightning.  
The kunoichi had always known that Sasuke was capable of shocking brutality, but Naruto…Naruto was never supposed to be this way. She shook her head. Perhaps she should have known that Naruto was as mighty in his vengeance, in his wrath, as he was in his affection. He was drawing the air out of some of the cells, leaving a slow vacuum to tear at the vulnerable blood vessels of his victim's eyes and lungs, their blood weirdly suspended in the artificial antigravity. Others he battered with wind, shattering them with tiny bullets of air until the surface of the bubble was smeared with blood and splinters of bone. Some he merely asphyxiated only to grant them a single breath before pulling the oxygen away again and others he poisoned by slowing concentrating nitrogen or some other gas, others he froze. All suffered. All would die. Sakura screamed, but her grief was silent except to her own ears. Everything was silent.  
OoOoOoO  
Hinata drummed her fingers against the smooth wood of the ancient, blackwood tea table, the grain of it nearly memorized after so many days in seclusion. She took a breath and gave into the temptation, sneaking a furtive glance at the small clock ticking maddeningly in the corner of the room, but only a few more moments had passed since when she last looked. Very little usable information was offered to her voluntarily, but Hinata managed to keep well informed despite her father's intentions and she knew that even now both he and Kiba might be dead. Her spies had managed to convey the basic strategy behind the assault and the Hyuuga princess already knew that the maneuver would fail, the only question was how many lives would be lost for the sake of her father's pride. Hinata felt the impotent rage flare again and bit her lip in a subtle show of emotion.  
She loved her father, he was the only father she had, and there had been a time not so long ago when his opinion had meant everything to her, when Hiashi's approval would have been enough to satisfy her. Still, she was a logical person and the general paucity of evidence that Hiashi loved her, that he even thought of her as anything more than another weapon in his armory eventually had to be considered. Hinata had originally hoped that bearing her children, indisputable heirs to prove the validity of her marriage to Kiba, would have been enough to wrest control of the house, but the possibility of a peaceful solution was fading. She was a logical person and she knew that if Hiashi continued on the course laid before them that no one in house Hyuuga would survive.  
The guards glanced at her with suspicious eyes, far too glad for the opportunity to bully a member of the royal house and always willing to dole out more ingenious punishments if she gave them an opportunity. Hinata smiled at them blandly, feeling a minute surge of satisfaction as they shifted their feet in discomfort. Even the most jaded branch house foot soldier would not dare to chastise her for something as simple as staring and Hinata took her revenge in whatever way she could. Patience was essential, but the princess knew should would not have to wait long. Hanabi was never slow about anything. She just prayed that her little sister's brash violence would be enough to save them all from her father's waxing insanity.  
The door to the out chamber slammed open with a resounding crack that sent a shudder through the tea table and made both guards jump and ready their weapons. Hinata smirked. Her sister was indeed swift. Hanabi stomped through the reception area and shoved the guards aside, not even pausing to remove her shoes before kneeling before Hinata still dressed in the armor and battle-mask of a Hyuuga common scout.  
"What the hell!?" One of her guards shouted, pulling a long knife from his hip.  
"Cocky bitch…" The other snarled, grabbing her cowl.  
"Back to watching, watchdog!" Hanabi snapped, jerking her mask down to reveal her face in all it's soot-stained glory.  
"Hanabi-sama!" The guard shouted in shock.  
"My lady! Why are you here, and dressed so..so unlike yourself…so dirty?" The other asked, retracting his hand as if burned.  
"My business, not yours! Stand outside." Hanabi hissed.  
"But, Hiashi-sama has ordered…" The guard hesitated, looking panicked.  
"You deny your princess? How dare you…" Hanabi snarled, raising her hand in a gesture that threatened the use of the Curse Mark.  
Hinata winced, but bit her tongue on the chastisement she would have normally levelled on her sibling. The guards cried out in terror and threw themselves into groveling bows at Hanabi's blood smeared feet, but the girl only sneered at them. Hanabi was always a bit too ready with cruelty, ambitious in a way that reminded the Hyuuga heiress uncomfortably of their father and his violent pride, but Hanabi would notbecome a mirror image of that tyrant if she had any say in the matter. Hinata allowed a few more moments of terrified silence, before standing.  
"Leave as your lady commands and have no fear." Hinata whispered.  
The guards turned widened eyes up to her in thanks and extricated themselves from the room with very little noise and swiftness born of sheer terror. Hinata allowed herself a long sigh and a silent look of reproach for the slender girl standing before her. Hanabi rolled her eyes, settling with a loud thump onto the cushions on the other side of the tea table, the fine tremor in her blackened fingers belying the younger girl's bravado. Hinata took a breath, trying not to rush her sister, but anxious for the news she brought.  
"It's bad, Sissy." Hinata whispered, eyes cast down.  
"We knew it would be." Hinata replied, giving her little sister's hand a squeeze.  
"Almost eighty percent of Father's vanguard forces have been decimated, though he's still holding the veterans in reserve as an honor guard. Sasuke is tearing them apart and Cousin is very deeply under the thrall, fighting like I've never seen him fight and using…using horribletechniques that no one even thought he knew…" Hanabi gasped, her voice catching a little.  
"Neji does what he must. He's protecting his family." Hinata whispered gently.  
"But we're his family Sissy!" Hanabi snapped, striking her fist against the ancient wood of the table.  
"You'll understand someday." Hinata said gently, managing a smile for the girl, "What else?"  
"Naruto has taken the field and he's mad, really mad, because…because Sai was killed." Hanabi reported, biting her lip.  
"Kiba," Hinata finally hissed, jaw shaking, "What about Kiba?"  
"Sissy…" Hanabi sighed, looking away.  
"Please! I have to know!" Hinata cried.  
Hanabi looked at her sadly, the tension obvious in the tightness around the girl's eyes and the unhappy way she pressed her lips together. Hinata closed her eyes, trying to regain control, trying not to break into a fit of worthless crying in front of her sister. She had to be strong, Kiba would want that no matter what the circumstances were, and there was still much to be done. Hinata mastered her emotions and leaned back a little, waiting and counting her breathing carefully.  
"Kiba fled the battlefield in the first engagement and took the squad of green soldiers Father gave him too, but no one knows if they managed to desert or if Sasuke killed them at the river. The last anyone saw them was at the edge of the forest by the Chosokabe river and then some kind of battle took place, the river is changed, no one knows who survived…" Hanabi said, reaching out to tug gently at Hinata's sleeve in the same way she used to as a young child.  
"I'm sure they're alright." Hinata said pushing the emotion back and trying to think.  
"Sissy…I think Father's going to lose…" Hanabi whispered, lip quivering with stifled tears.  
"I expected that as well and there might not be any way to save him. I'll save us though, I have a plan, so don't worry. Go now and make the preparations I told you about. Everyone must be prepared." Hinata ordered softly.  
"Okay…" Hanabi said, voice raw.  
Hinata stood and walked to her sister in the padded house slippers she was forced to wear, soundlessly pulling her up from the floor and into her arms. The girl's hair smelled of smoke and lightning and something worse, a scent Hinata had only experienced during times of war, the smell of death and fear. She shivered and Hanabi shivered too. There was no weeping for the tremendous loss of loved ones or crying for those still lost in the chaos of battle, just a quiet moment of comfort and trembling which conveyed more feeling than a thousand wailing mourners ever could. Many had died and many still would, but there were things to be done, loyalties to be dissolved and favors to be called upon. The time for her coup had finally come and soon everything would be brutally simple, only those who chose to stand with her and those who would die in Naruto's claws when his retribution came. Unfortunately, that was the only future she had left to offer.  
OoOoOoO  
Blackness, the darkest part of the night, rushing past like the wind brushing his face and there were no ever-hungry stars in the fluid darkness of the empty sky. The tempest rose and crested, moving with the heaving force of both mass and gravity, before sinking again to the brink as the water felt its weight once more. The ground fell away completely, leaving only the dark and a sense of weightlessness, floating almost comfortably. He remembered, but the memory hurt and so he fled. He moved eagerly into the enveloping embrace of the chilly waves, dove deep and was numbed, everything slowing in the cold to a more manageable pace. The shadowy water was enough to calm the awful screaming. He dove, pushing deeper and ignoring the burn for air, moving away from the calling voices and on towards the center. The one alone would sleep. The memory was only red and tearing agony and he simply could not bear it, so to sleep dreamless in the cold, alone and forgotten, was better. Better than the pain. He embraced the chill and became still, dormant and quiet as the rest of the world bled on and raged in the storm above, the crying only a shallow ache. People were dying and he did care, there was the desire to rise and answer the tugging call pulling hooks at his soul, but the waters were deep and the chaos did not penetrate.  
OoOoOoO  
"Naruto, you have to stop this now love, this isn't the way…" Sakura sobbed, the words thrust out between chattering teeth.  
Neji was still crying hysterically as Naruto pulled them both within himself, the darkened clouds of the gargantuan spirit-beast slowly blotting the appalling scene from their eyes, a curtain drawn over a drama that Sakura knew would replay itself in her nightmares forever. The light of her husband's eyes dimmed as they moved into the heart of his tempest, but Sakura could sense the others almost as if she could still see them. She felt Sasuke's sleeping form close with her in the warm dark and sensed when Naruto chose to pull Neji into oblivion as well, though she had no idea how such a thing was possible without the thrall. She shivered, feeling suddenly isolated, the only one left alive, awake and marginally sane.  
"Naruto," She whispered, "Please listen. I know you can hear me."  
"I can." The voice was huge, deep and with the resonance of thunder, but unmistakeably his.  
"Now is not the time, we're hurt, we're bleeding…" She pleaded.  
"And THEY should bleed too!" He roared, the rage and madness resonated enough to practically steal the air from her lungs.  
"Do not shout at me." Sakura hissed, feeling incensed and not at all intimidated.  
"You should sleep Sakura, you're safe now and tired. It's for the best, believe it…" The reply was gentler, filling her senses.  
"Like hell, we need to talk." The Kunoichi argued.  
"There is nothing to talk about. Soon these will be dead and then…" His tone sent a shiver down her spine.  
"And then WHAT, Naruto?! Then WHAT? What will you do? Kill the others…?"  
"Yes." His voice colder than she had ever heard.  
"And when they're dead? When EVERYONE is dead? Come to your senses! Revenge never solved anything!" Sakura bellowed, standing in her cocoon of air.  
"They TOOK him from us Sakura! They STOLE him and…and he's MINE!" Naruto howled and the air spinning like a cyclone.  
"All the blood in the world won't bring him back!" She cried, her voice ragged with grief as the empty were Sai used to be yawned open again like a wound.  
"They deserve it!" Naruto hissed.  
"Some of them are only children! Naruto, will you listen to yourself? This is insanity!" Sakura wailed.  
"We agree. They must die."  
"You and WHO, Naruto? You and Kyuubi agree?" Sakura asked, fisting her hands.  
"We know. We have seen this before, we have lost precious mates and yet they go unpunished, it isn't fair…" The voice was odd, and Sakura recognized the Fox in it, speaking in synchrony with him.  
"Baby, it isn't fair, but…" She took a breath, "But WE need you now."  
"You are safe." Both of them again.  
"What will you do when you get there? Kill all the elders, all the mothers huddled with their children, all the babies?" She asked, subconsciously touching her own belly.  
"They would kill our baby. Humans cannot be trusted. Humans are evil, believe it." Naruto said, sounding very young, the voice of a child huddled alone to lick his wounds. She shuddered.  
"I'm human, aren't I?" Sakura whispered, sobbing.  
"You're different." The Fox alone.  
"No, no baby I'm not. I make mistakes too, I do the wrong thing, follow the wrong orders and that's their only crime in this!" Sakura cried, pressing her hand up against the wall of her bubble.  
"They killed him, Sakura…" Naruto wailed, long and low and filled with pain.  
"T…They did…" She was sobbing too hard nearly to speak, the grief almost too much to speak through.  
"They hurt us."  
"I know, but I love you too much to let you do this. You'll suffer if you do. Suffer the way Sasuke does…" She whispered.  
"What if Teme was right? What if…if Sai died because I was too weak…?" Naruto asked, voice shaking with anger.  
"What if he was wrong, love?" Sakura pushed.  
"Sasuke knew, he knew all along and instead of acting…instead of listening…" Naruto wept.  
"Sasuke would NOT want this! He knows the price of hate and he wouldn't want that for you, none of us do! We LOVE you Naruto, PLEASE!" Sakura wailed.  
"I don't know what to do. I hurt too much!" Naruto mourned and she could hear that pain in both his and the demon Kitsune's ancient voice.  
"I know, honey, I know it. Me too, me too, but this will not make it better! You have to stop! Stop!" The kunoichi cried, feeling his conviction waver.  
"I can't. I…I…I want them ALL…to…to just…DIE!" He snarled and she felt the feeling wash over her once again.  
The all-consuming hurt, the soul-deep pain of trusting and being betrayed, the icy gushing of Sai's loss still so fresh and raw. Naruto felt the way he had as a very small child, alone and despised, bruised and hungry in the unfeeling dust of Konoha's streets when everyone else had gone home. He felt like his home had been broken and sacked, all the security gone. Sakura cried to just to feel it, all the old wounds pulled open and bleeding, the pain blending with Kyuubi's primordial sorrow. They were in harmony in a way she had never suspected that Naruto and the demon ever could be, aligned by a mutual enemy, akin in suffering.  
"In all the years, the centuries Kyuubi has lived, has killing ever made it better?" She asked and suddenly there was silence.  
"They take and so shall we!" They boomed.  
"And when there is nothing left for anyone?" Sakura whispered, "What then?"  
Naruto hesitated, his presence vast and yet eerily silent as the heartbeats pounded on in the swirling blackness of the living typhoon. Sakura felt her knees begin to tremble. The girl worried that her will would begin to weaken as she waited for his reply, the sensory deprivation playing tricks on her senses, making her doubt that there was anything that could be done to save Konoha. What if everyone was dead already? Everything was so dark, impossible to discern one direction from another, the experience surreal and disorienting as she floated alone, drifting without even the pull of gravity to center her body in the space. Hours passed or perhaps only minutes and Sakura wondered idly if Naruto was still there, if he had ever been there with her or if his voice and presence had only been a hallucination. The emotion moved in her as the clouds moved without, impossible to see and yet almost too near, peaks and valleys without any real substance to cling to. Her baby kicked, agitated by the adrenaline and the stillness. Sakura hummed to the unborn child softly, resisting the urge to pace inside the comfortable sheath of air, resisting the urge to give in to the silence.  
She waited and breathed and sang and prayed and wondered if there would be anything at all remaining of the world outside when the light finally came again and Naruto's storm calmed at last or if the blackness was really all there was left. As maddening as the yawning silence was, Sakura refused to give into the irrational temptation to scream or sob just to hear her own pain, knowing that any chance of changing Naruto's mind depended on her calm and patience. She had to wait and let him doubt his actions, let him question her words and his own feelings until the jinchuuriki saw the same truth, which Sakura was confident he would. Naruto needed to come to things in his own way, on his own time, and rushing his decision would only provoke more arguments. Such was his nature and something Sakura knew well, but the silence was very, very hard. The only noise was the shrieking inside her soul and the soft, tuneless melody echoing against the invisible walls of her cocoon.  
The nightmare was still being funneled to her from the others, hot and deep and painful in the spinning pattern of the thrall, and as the moments passed Sakura wondered if perhaps the torment within was the real world. The woman sang, her throat raw and burning with the effort, staring out into the nothing, wondering if anyone stared back or if she was truly alone and just as she was about to crumple…something began to change. Gradually, Sakura became aware of a light, the orange glow barely a pinprick of illumination, only as bright as the very dimmest and most distant star at the very edge of dawn. She watched and the glimmer slowly began to brighten and grow, filling the thick clouds with long rays of shining tangerine splendor, as shocking as lightning in the deepest part of the night and warm as a summer sunset. After so much darkness, her eyes burned and began to blur with tears as they tried to accommodate, but the kunoichi could not look away. She knew that color.  
"Naruto…" She breathed.  
He stood before her in his truest form, unmasked, both splendid and terrible to behold. Naruto was shaped like a man and nude, dressed only in the silken flames of the nine tails emerging from the base of his spine and the whirling electric blue patterns that flowed over his left arm and up to encircle his heart. His eyes burned like sky blue coals in his whiskered face, pupils white slits of even brighter light against the azure, gaze steady and as still as a serpent's. Naruto's big hands were graced by long claws and his golden hair flowed long and wild past long, pointed ears and over his shoulders, emphasizing the strange length of his spine and the keen fangs in his muzzle. He was an amalgam of both man and Fox, human and demon, but not or perhaps more…a jinchuuriki fully realized. Her husband walked towards her, treading on top of the very winds as the air cleaved to his steps, human and yet not, familiar and alien too. She raised her hand towards him, pressing against the thickened wall of her airy shell and, to her utter shock, through it as the air suddenly became soft, pliable, and suddenly Sakura was in the core of her husband's hurricane. The wind tossed her hair, shockingly cold after the cloistered warmth of her still and billowy nest, but Sakura didn't fall.  
"Naruto! You have to stop!" Sakura shouted, reaching for him as she spun slowly through the rushing wind.  
"Who are they to be worthy of your pity?" He asked, and the voice was vast and resonant with thunder, the Fox's dulcet timber like a current of magma beneath Naruto's own.  
"They are just people, just lives, doing the best they can! People make mistakes, Naruto…!" Sakura breathed, turning in the airstream, trying to find her balance.  
"People are evil." Naruto replied, looking away and to her shock the voice was his alone.  
"You don't really believe that." Sakura said, shaking her head.  
"They TOOK him, Sakura!" The creature snarled, eyes flaring huge and hot with inhuman anger.  
"And he's gone, love. All the blood in the world won't change that." The kunoichi sighed, reaching for him again.  
The jinchuuriki caught her lightly, his hand warm and gentle despite the long claws, the callouses of his strong palm still familiar even through flickering, spiritual flame. Sakura smiled a little and Naruto returned the expression, his face fond and a bit timid as he pulled her close, wrapping the fiery softness of his tails around her. They drifted for a while in the air, almost dancing, her cheek pressed close against the sunny warmth and familiar musculature of his chest as she listened to the steadying rhythm of his heart, sighing as the beat gradually began to decelerate. The storm raged and the others slept and people died, but for a long time Sakura forgot everything except her husband's embrace and the trancelike tempo of his breathing.  
"I love you." Naruto whispered at last and the winds quieted a fraction.  
"And I love you." She sighed, feeling the first scorching drops of his tears.  
When Sakura finally opened her eyes and gazed up into Naruto's face, the man's blue eyes were filled with tears, the salty water dripping down his cheeks and off his chin in rivulets of silent misery. She smiled and arched up onto her toes to lick at the drops falling from his jaw, nuzzling close and feeling her own eyes moisten as they mourned together, saying nothing and communicating anyway. Naruto's arms wound more tightly around her shoulders, pressing her body close against his own so that Sakura could feel the trembling of his belly and the subtle shaking in his shoulders. The held each other close until the pain eased enough to breath without sobbing and when Sakura looked up again, Naruto was fully human once more. In the moments between one heartbeat and the next, before she could truly process the change, the winds sighed and the storm cleared, leaving only a kind of glistening clarity in the air as the first pale rays of dawn filled the sky.  
OoOoOoO  
Tsunade watched the spectacle of Naruto's rage dissipate in the gradually brightening morning light, the clouds suddenly fluffy and benign instead of the dark, thick, flashing storm that had gathered over Konoha in the night. People were gradually cracking their doors open, creeping into the sudden quiet with trepidation, looking up at the sky with fearful glances. She had called for an evacuation, but most of the civilians simply barricaded themselves inside their houses, while the nin silently tied their children to their backs and vanished the first moment Naruto's awakened form appeared. Tsunade sighed. From what she could tell of the battle happening on the Uchiha grounds, Hiashi had finally gotten his damn war, Kami help them all.  
At least the Kyuubi was not free of it's prison, at least as far as she could tell, but whatever the gargantuan spirit beast was that had been walking through the forests, it was definitely not human. Naruto had achieved a combined form with the Kyuubi and that, Tsunade knew, could be even more dangerous than a rampaging fire kitsune. What few reports she managed to extract from Glacier when Gaara raised the kingdom to the ground indicated that he, too, could merge more synchronously with his demon into a combined form. She feared the same fate for Konoha; a city-state, an entire culture, rubbed from the map by the omnipotent rage of a jinchuuriki, but Naruto was not Gaara and so she waited for the storm to subside instead of rallying forces of her own.  
There would be death enough without throwing ANBU into the mix and letting the military police turn what was, in its essence, a clan squabble into something even worse. As squabbles went, the Hokage preferred the variety that involved single, ritual combat between the offended parties instead of an all-out house war between the most powerful family in the city and an elemental demon vessel. The fighting was not over, not by far, and Tsunade wished desperately that one or both of the clans involved would reply to her summons so that she could at least know where they stood, but the two families ignored her. Whether their silence indicated grief or simply preoccupation with strategy, the Hokage could not say, but she was bound by the laws of Konoha to withhold any kind of intervention unless both parties invited her to act as a mediator. Even proud Hiashi might consider her help if he lost enough blood and Naruto certainly would if he was still marginally sane, but Tsunade had the uncomfortable suspicion that both men were neither sane nor reasonable at the moment.  
Shizune emerged from her home a few doors away, holding Tonton tight to her chest with one hand over the pig's eyes as if the pet were a small child frightened of lightning. Tsunade snorted. So that was where the little pink bastard had shuffled off to in the night, hunkering down at her student's home and probably enjoying sweets while she charged about, scared senseless with worrying about the pig. Tsunade whistled and Tonton snorted excitedly. Shizune waved and jogged over.  
"Is…um…is it gone?" The doctor asked timidly, looking up at the sky fearfully.  
"Yes. For now." Tsunade replied, pulling Tonton from the other woman's hands as he squealed happily.  
"What was that thing?" Shizune whispered, eyes glued to where thick pillars of smoke still rose from the Uchiha forests.  
"Who can say, really? Perhaps a god, perhaps a demon, maybe all of them combined…" Tsunade sighed, shrugging.  
"Was it Naruto?" Shizune asked, biting her lip.  
"Yes. I imagine it was."  
"Kami! What are we going to do!?" The woman asked, wringing her hands. The Hokage sighed as she fondled Tonton's ears.  
"What can we do?" She whispered.  
OoOoOoO  
Neji awoke as he had every time for the past three days, body tight and rigid with panic, bedding drenched in chilly sweat and nearly screaming as the nightmare roared up from the cloying darkness and he was forced to watch Sai die once again. The artist died every time Neji closed his eyes, every time his mind wandered, every time he dared to fall asleep and every time was like the first, the hurt of it fresh and deep and terrible. Throat too dry to cry out, the Hyuuga whimpered instead and pulled his quivering knees up tight against his chest, one hand pressed with bruising force over his mouth to hold in the howling pain still ringing in his teeth and sending spears of cold sorrow through his spine. The first time he'd woken screaming and the horror of it was that no one rushed to his side, the others too engrossed in mourning to even notice that some of the screaming had managed to find its way into reality. Sasuke said that inside, in the currents of the thrall that they shared, all of them were screaming all the time anyway.  
Sai was dead and the gruesome truth was not merely a dream, Neji knew it well enough by now, and even if he had somehow managed to forget, there was the silence and darkness of the house to bring the memory rushing back. The raw emptiness in his spirit filled Neji's awareness the moment he finished blinking the searing images of his nightmares away, but the fresh surge of despair at awakening to Sai's absence choked him anyway. He hurt, soul bleeding with knowing that Sai was not there, more than merely absent or out of sight, and he would never see the ink nin's energy or hear his voice again. Neji rocked and cried, weeping hysterically in the dark against his own hands, the only light coming from the eerie funeral lanterns still flickering their silent vigil from the hall. Neji was a reserved person and it felt surreal to be able grieve so openly, but no one cared about appearances, least of all him. He had too many to weep for and even an entire lifetime spent grieving would barely be enough, the sadness almost suffocating, unrelieved by the tears and inescapable.  
Everyone grieved, he could hear them lamenting through the walls, but the door to his room was securely locked and only Sasuke had spoken to him since the battle. Naruto forbade any light other than the sallow glow of the candles to illuminate the house as they mourned and ordered every window draped in black muslin to blot out the very sun. In his sorrow, the jinchuuriki pulled the manor into perpetual night and all the color seemed permanently bled from the world as the bright orange tapestries and ornaments of the house were removed or covered by somber white drapes. Even as Neji wept away all the water he'd drunk the day or night, it was difficult to know, before, the Hyuuga knew that Naruto was probably suffering the most of all. His alpha vacillated between almost paralyzing grief and consuming, inhuman rage or at least so Neji had gathered from the few dry, empty conversations he'd had with Sasuke about the rest of the family.  
At some point, Naruto had doubled the staff and ordered the servants to clean the house like maniacs in the dark, scrubbing every surface and sweeping away dust that was not even there. They cleaned constantly, both day and night, until Sakura had to intervene and stop them from rubbing the varnish from the floor, but Naruto let the bodies rot and molder in the woods without so much as a jutsu to keep the animals away. The bones of his kinsmen would be scattered and destroyed, a dishonor ninja rarely showed to an enemy, yet Naruto refused to acknowledge even the suggestion that the dead should be cared for. No one was eating or speaking much and the jinchuuriki had flatly refused all Tsunade's summons, ignoring the hokage as he ignored almost everything else. Their alpha, Sasuke whispered, was coping with the loss very poorly.  
No one had come to tell him anything about the Hyuugas, if any of his kinsmen were still alive or what the others were planning to do, if the war raged on or if the front had quieted. In fact, no one said much of anything and Neji was left alone in the quiet hell of his own guilt to weep and dream without even the rise and set of the sun to indicate how much time had passed. Neji was not sure how much Naruto knew about his role in the tragedy, but there were no secrets in the Uzumaki household for long and he knew that the truth would come out eventually. Naruto would know everything if he didn't already and then…and then…Neji swallowed, the tears burning his eyes. The very situation Anko had warned him about was happening now, unfolding in macabre clarity before his very eyes, and there was no way to know what the jinchuuriki's response would be.  
Neji wept, the thunder in his spirit almost drowning out the sound of approaching feet treading swift and angry in the hallway outside his room, the easy authority of Naruto's footfalls almost lost as the jinchuuriki stormed through the house. Sasuke was with him, Neji could practically feel the raven's approaching presence, but they were eerily silent, not even arguing. The Hyuuga wiped his eyes and tried to put his bed and clothing into some semblance of order, teeth chattering with anxiety despite the effort he made to be still. The door to the room was unlocked noisily and shoved open with a resounding snap loud enough to make Neji jump, the flimsy wood still shaking on it's tracks as Naruto stormed into the bedroom wearing a white mourning kimono and an ugly scowl. Sasuke followed behind him, body language uncharacteristically timid and looking miserable, black eyes still swollen and red from sobbing. Neji knelt and dropped his eyes to his own quivering hands.  
"No more lies, Hyuuga! I want to know why you are here, what you are really doing and why I had to put Sasuke under the fucking thrall to get him to tell me what in the hell happened out there!" Naruto roared, blue eyes feral and a little mad. Neji licked his lips.  
"I was told that I was here for peace, that…" Neji began.  
"Peace…" Naruto chuckled sarcastically, interrupting Neji even as the tears welled up in his blue eyes, shaking his head.  
"At least let him explain…" Sasuke chided softly, crossing his arms.  
"YOU shut your DAMN mouth!" Naruto snapped and Neji's eyes widened as Sasuke bit his lip and said nothing more.  
Naruto and Sasuke fought often, all the time really, but Neji had never heard the jinchuuriki speak to his beloved subordinate that way before and even worse was the way Sasuke didn't even try to correct his alpha. The exchange was out of character for both of them. Neji swallowed and tried to decide if he should continue speaking or just wait for Naruto to level judgment. Seconds passed, too slowly, as Naruto cried silently and ground his teeth.  
"Tell him, Hyuuga." Sasuke prompted, softly.  
"Naruto, I never meant to…" Neji whispered, shaking his head.  
"My Teme tells me, when I compel him, that you knew the Hyuuga's were coming because you told them when we were vulnerable. Is it true?" Naruto asked icily, eyes narrowed with suspicion even as the tears dripped down his cheeks.  
"Yes, but…"  
"Is it also true that you informed Hiashi that killing Sakura was the key to our destruction? I have no idea why he would have targeted her with so much focus otherwise, but I'm not the smartest person in the world…" Naruto hissed.  
"I did tell him, but…I… I thought it would STOP him! I thought…" Neji shouted, voice rising with panic.  
"You thought incorrectly and someone is DEAD now because of it! Believe it!" Naruto roared and Sasuke flinched a little.  
"He was being manipulated…" The black haired murderer whispered.  
"Oh, yeah? So are they holding some hostage against you or keeping your liver in a jar somewhere? Were you forced to do this? The truth, Hyuuga!" Naruto snarled, incensed.  
Neji's jaw quivered a little as his teeth tried to chatter again, but he never even considered lying or trying to obfuscate his own involvement in the attack, though it would have been easier to make excuses. He had made a choice, a tactical decision, based upon fractured and incomplete knowledge of the situation when he might have waited or gathered intelligence of his own and someone precious died for his lack of judgment. Neji knew it was inexcusable as well as they did. Fate or not, something was lost that could not be regained and he had no pretenses left anyway.  
"No." Neji said, feeling the shame of it burn in his cheeks.  
"You don't understand…" Sasuke began, shaking his head.  
"I don't understand because PEOPLE are keeping SECRETS from me!" Naruto shouted, practically shaking with rage.  
"I didn't know, I didn't think the information was important and I just wanted to try for peace before…" Neji offered.  
"Peace? PEACE?! You're the only one! Your uncle wants WAR, Neji! WAR! Now he's GOT one and I won't be satisfied until every one of your clan is DEAD…!" Naruto shrieked, teeth long and menacing.  
"Moron! You don't want to do that, not really…" Sasuke argued, gripping the sleeve of Naruto's drab mourning kimono as if he could pull him away from the idea physically.  
"Sai is DEAD!" Naruto railed.  
"Killing them won't make him LESS dead, Naruto!" The raven shouted back giving the garment a sharp tug as if to emphasize his point.  
Naruto bared his teeth and growled, but held back whatever words he had originally meant to say, settling instead for a searing glare that felt as though it pierced all the way through the room and deep into Neji's soul. The bright pain in the jinchuuriki's eyes burned in his belly like acid and the fear of being separated from him ached like a fever in his bones, but even the agony of it was barely punishment enough to soothe the roiling guilt. Neji knelt and suffered as his alpha clenched and unclenched his hands, trying and failing to wipe away the tears still seeping from his eyes. Beside him, Sasuke was shaking silently with some unspoken emotion and deeper in the house Neji could practically sense Sakura weeping inconsolably over Sai's body. He deserved this and worse, even death would barely be recompense enough.  
"A day…and a night, no more." Naruto ground out at last, voice colder than frost.  
"A day?" Neji asked, raising his eyes hesitantly.  
"Go back, go back where you came from, Hyuuga. Go and tell your clan that I will grant them one day and night to abandon their holdings…" Naruto hissed, his eyes violet with rage and glistening fangs keen and ready for the slaughter.  
"Shit! No! Naruto you can't just send him back…!" Sasuke cried.  
"Silence!" Naruto roared and Sasuke's jaws closed with an audible click loud enough to make Neji flinch.  
The thrall surged through them in a pounding wave, the burning pleasure almost like the euphoria that comes with near-drowning, a feeling both darker and more sensual than even Anko's keenest knives. Neji swayed, his vision swimming madly, nearly fainting as the muscles of his jaws ached and twitched in obedience to the inescapable command in the jinchuuriki's voice. He wanted to argue, to shriek and cry and mourn and beg to be allowed to stay with them even as a slave, to stay with all of them, but Neji's throat felt paralyzed just as surely as Sasuke's was. He couldn't say anything at all, even if he had deserved the privilege. Naruto swallowed hard and smoothed a shaking hand through his hair.  
"A day and a night. After that every living thing, man, woman or child, within that compound will be erased…ground into the soil as ifnothing ever lived there at all and the name Hyuuga will never be spoken again. Believe it." Naruto whispered cruelly and turned away from them, his face hidden in the crawling shadows.  
Neji shook his head, body feeling too numbed and heavy to do more than raise his hand, reaching towards his alpha in silent supplication. He didn't want to believe the words, to believe that Naruto was really throwing him away, but even if he could have found a way to speak around the aching tightness in his jaw there was nothing to say. The sin was unforgiveable. Please, Neji wanted to say, just kill me. Death would be better. For an infinite moment the jinchuuriki hesitated at the edge of the room, his broad back stiff and tense, as if fighting the urge to turn back towards them and allow his heart to move again. Instead, Naruto turned on his heel and marched out of the room without another word, leaving only the pressing silence in his wake. Minutes passed, but the world seemed frozen, each heartbeat a wrenching chasm in Neji's chest as he watched Sasuke finally stand and move towards him like a man lost in a dream, a nightmare. The black haired subordinate stood above him, close enough to touch, but as distant and unapproachable as a traveler on the other side of the sea. Neji felt paralyzed, unable to even raise his head up to meet Sasuke's eyes.  
"Goodbye, love." Sasuke whispered as he bent at the waist and cupped Neji's skull delicately in his normally brutal fingers, guiding the genius's eyes up to meet his own.  
The Hyuuga stared up into the limpid pools of Sasuke's black eyes and within those inky depths an ocean of tears swam along with the warmth of Sakura's smile and the gushing pain of Naruto's weeping, a thousand emotions. A single tear fell from the murderer's eye and into his own, but Neji couldn't even move to blink it away. With a breath that was almost a sob, Sasuke gripped Neji's jaw and kissed him with a touch like the ghosting whisper of affection echoing with grief, the kind of kiss a person gave to a corpse already laid upon the fire. Neji closed his eyes and shuddered.  
"When we meet again, I think one of us will die." Sasuke said softly and within another heartbeat he too was gone.  
OoOoOoO  
The funeral bells sounded in the sullen chill of the morning air, sudden and jarring and abrupt enough to set Sasuke's teeth on edge. Sakura wept, lying in a pale heap across Sai's body as she had for days, the white clay of the funeral paint on her face already run through with tears. Naruto's eyes, red with crying and sleeplessness, looked fiendish in the ashen mask of his own funeral paint and Sasuke knew his own probably looked the same. The grief lay upon them like a wet shroud, heavy and stifling, making the air thick and impossible to breathe. The priest chanted softly, the drone of his voice fully lost beneath the shattering clang of the brass bells and the cloying scent of the thousands of carnation blossoms filling what had once been Sai's private bedchamber. The paintings decorating the room had been carefully cleaned along with everything else, but Sasuke could still see the blood, the image of his own likeness spattered with gore fixed irrevocably into his brain.  
Naruto knelt and pulled Sai's limp hand into his own, kissing the livid knuckles as he gently brushed Sakura's long tail of ash streaked hair away from her weeping face. The white carnation flowers filled the room completely, all the way up to the raised edge of Sai's funeral platform, burying the portraits on the wall nearly up to their eyes. Where they knelt, Naruto and Sakura were almost lost in the flowers, their shoulders rising above the white like two swimmers ship-wrecked in a frothy ocean. The white clay paint on his face was dry, but Sasuke felt the tears wet his cheeks all the same, and wondered if he would ever be able to go through the day without sobbing like a child.  
Beside he right shoulder, Shino sniffled quietly, the insects in his stark white clothing buzzing to the cadence of the priest and his bells. The bug-loving nin was the only other person Naruto had allowed to attend the intimate house ceremony before the funeral march, though Tsunade had asked as well and kakshi was waiting up the hill at the Uchiha shrine. Even with Shino, the Uzumaki clan felt too few, too small against the threats that surrounded the house and Sasuke was reminded uncomfortably about how fragile their home truly was. Naruto was so strong, so indomitable, that he'd been lulled into a kind of false complacency and the jinchuuriki's magnetic confidence made it easy to forget that their family was a few against many.  
"Sai was…he was just like a kid…he never even…" Shino sobbed, shaking his head.  
"You were his friend." Sasuke said, the words hollow and bitter as ashes in his mouth.  
"Some friend, I couldn't save him because he was stubborn, and because he was in love and because Hiashi..." Shino shook his head again, trembling with rage.  
Sasuke did not know what to say, so he folded his hands into his sleeves and said nothing at all, the grief crushing in his bones as the bells chimed and the flowers faded and Sai lay before them as if frozen in time. Even in death, he looked as he always had, face still and flat and pale as the finest paper without the wasting or bruising that marred most of the corpses Sasuke had seen in his life. The darksome murderer kept expecting the ink nin to open his eyes, blink sleepily and yawn as if the darkness of the past days had all been nothing other than a fairytale spell cast and then broken with the magic of a kiss. Kisses made no difference, but he'd still tried. Days passed and the sorrow never waned, the tears fell, but brought no comfort. Today Sai would be buried, but Sasuke knew that the emptiness in his spirit could never be mended, that he was broken, that they all were and he could barely even remember what it felt like to be whole.  
"We'll avenge him." Naruto whispered, finally standing and pulling Sakura to her feet as well.  
"Would he…would he even want that?" Sakura asked, her hand quivering against Naruto's kimono.  
"They need to be punished, Sakura." Naruto hissed.  
"How, Naruto? There's only you and Sasuke and…and even together…and I can't lose anyone else!" The woman wailed, fisting her hands in the fabric of Naruto's robes.  
"They brought the war to us, but we will bring it back to them. Believe it." Naruto snarled, grip tightening on Sai's pale hand.  
"Haven't enough people died already!?" Sakura shouted and the priest glared at her from under the wide brim of his ceremonial hat. Sasuke glared back.  
"We'll eliminate them. They're a threat to us." Naruto growled, his voice thick and resonant with the power of the Fox.  
"They're power is broken, dobe…" Sasuke said gently, reaching for his alpha's shoulder.  
"Then we'll just have to break the rest of them." Naruto said, squeezing the raven's fingers where they rested on his shoulder.  
"Have you gone completely fucking CRAZY!?" Sakura cried, slapping her hand against his arm with a resonant crack.  
The blow had the same effect on Naruto as a bit of dandelion fuzz blown against the trunk of an oak tree might and the jinchuuriki's only retort was to pull their woman close in an almost desperate embrace as Sakura's cries of anger slowly turned back into helpless sobbing. Sasuke moved to her, gently prying her hand from Naruto's clothing and folding her smoothly into his own arms as the girl collapsed with the gried, the tears still flowing down her face nearly soundless and the pain ringing through the thrall anyway. The priest chanted and the bell rang and after an eternity of tense silence the ceremony found its conclusion as he and Naruto hoisted Sai's empty body onto their shoulders. Dead bodies were heavy, Sasuke knew from experience, but Sai seemed to weigh practically nothing. His father and mother had been carried to their pyres using the same ebony bier and the feeling of the carved wood under his hands again was almost enough to make the once-Uchiha scream, but his body felt like it had forgotten how. Naruto's hands shook on the ancient bier's carved wooden handles, but the funeral litter was well made and the jinchuuriki managed to raise the platform smoothly enough and then they were walking in synchrony without even trying like professional mourners.  
All of it felt too surreal, a terrible dream without even substance enough to be frightening, every sensation numbed and every sound muffled. Sasuke managed to remain stoic as the servants, appropriately disguised in white porcelain funeral masks, opened the doors that led towards the path he'd walked as a child after the massacre and then again as a man begging the dead for forgiveness. His eyes were dry and his bearing dignified as they walked through the gently snowing air along the path already cleared and lit with hanging lanterns, heading to the Uchiha family shrine. Sai wasn't an Uchiha, but he was family, and at any rate there was nowhere else to bury anyone. The tiny funeral party climbed the gentle hill up into the trees and Sasuke felt a chill crawl up his spine as a giant murder of crows rose from the western woods at the sounds of the priest's bells, the bodies of their enemies still lying under the sky.  
The scent of incense was thick on the evening wind, Naruto had refused to bury Sai at dawn as was traditional, and none of them had the strength to argue with him. The velvet darkness of the waning sun was better anyway. Sasuke was calm and quiet as Naruto poured the sake offering over Sai's naked feet and when Sakura pulled the sheer white silk of the shroud up and over Sai's face, reciting the prayers steadily. Sakura whispered the words, but the sound slowly faded away even as her lips kept moving, her voice swallowed by the pain within. He knelt and lit the incense smoothly, helping Naruto to his knees as the jinchuuriki collapsed onto the polished stone of the shrine floor, skin pale beneath the white clay of his funeral paint. Sasuke's heart felt empty and his hands only a little weak, but when Sai's's body was finally lowered into the grave his composure finally cracked and the tears came in earnest. The grief rose up and he drowned, even the warmth of Naruto's arms around his shoulders a distant and paltry comfort. He cried with deep, heaving spasms, weeping inconsolably like a lost child with his cheek pressed to the icy granite of the shrine's smooth floor as the soil was slowly heaped in shaking handfuls over Sai's pretty, empty face.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dead are mourned and Naruto has lost his temperance. Mad with grief, he will carry vengeance to the Hyuuga stronghold despite the wishes of his mates or the need to maintain Sakura's security. Meanwhile, Hiashi plots another way to destroy the Uzumaki clan even if it means the sacrifice of yet another weapon.

Accounts of ink demons are incredibly rare, though most sources agree that the creatures were exceedingly shy and probably survived the earliest stages of genocide only by passing as human. It appears, at least from the very rudimentary drawings of my predecessors, that ink oni were a sort of shape-shifting species. Like mirror sprites, shadow spawn and other lesser demons associated with the properties of an object instead of an element per se, they were probably able to alter some of their physical characteristics in response to their needs. Like the ink they are bonded with, the demons were able to manifest a certain concept for a brief period of time and the writings disagree over whether the creatures were devastatingly beautiful or shockingly ugly. The flexibility imbued by their nature was time limited and often more a mirage than true transformation. Texts disagree about the nature of the fully awakened base form, but generally indicate that it was black with strikingly blue markings and quadriped. Little else is known, because ink demons could control their own manifestations to a greater degree than other species and often looked dissimilar enough as to be confused with another demon altogether. Remarkably responsive to their environment, ink oni were able to generate fur to ward off cold or even wings for brief periods of time before returning to their base form. Though interesting, these abilities are not totally unique and, like all demons, they retained three fundament states: A humanoid low energy form, a fully awakened demonic form and an intermediate form sharing features of each. There is, however, a subtle indication of a greater depth to the power of the ink oni. More than any other species, they may have retained the capacity to fine-tune the energy invested in each form until the three modes of existence became less a solid state and more a continuum. The possibilities such an ability might have provided are enticingly vast, but as the creatures are completely extinct, this discussion is restricted to conjecture.

-Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons

Hiashi scrubbed at his face, the thick ash clinging stubbornly to his skin and hair and eyelashes, spreading damningly through the water of yet another scalding bath. He sighed, looking down at his hands and wishing vainly that Suki was still alive, still sitting silently beside him with her competent intuition and comfortable curves. She was truly the best of his ninja and not a weapon he was pleased to part with. The image of Suki's frozen, dismembered body was all he could see now, a shattered corpse instead of titillating reminiscences of the supple woman who had served him. Even the memory had been stolen by the Oni's mysterious friends, shadowy threats who remained a problem unsolved and a factor unaccounted for in his strategy. Everything was dirty again, covered in filth and blood just as surely as his own aspirations, but the Hyuuga clan-head hesitated to call his servants to change the water. Perhaps there were some things that simple soap and water could not wash away no matter how long a person scrubbed; things like failure and humiliation, things he had ruthlessly sacrificed many lives to avoid, but Kushina had made her bastard son too strong.

Hiashi clenched his hands into fists at the thought of Naruto, a worthless barbarian commoner imbued with demon strength that should have come to his own lineage. Even the memory of the boy's sunny face filled him with nauseating rage. A blunder of fate, an accident, had stolen Kushina away from him and now her powerful blood rose up to thwart his every intention in the form of an unstoppable jinchuuriki pack. None of it was fair! None of it was right! She should have been his woman, the clan queen of a fortified castle instead of the lowly wife of a butcher's son too poor to even buy her proper clothes and too foolish to protect her from the likes of Madara! Even in death, the fourth Hokage mocked him, just as he had when they studied in the academy.

Minato was always powerful but now, even as a fully realized adult with all of Konoha within his grasp, Hiashi was impotent to stop him. The seething hatred Hiashi felt for the dead man choked him, undimmed by the years or even his own logic, ice-cold and heavy as lead. Naruto's father was a mistake of breeding, an aberration, one in a million men born with enough talent to compete with the high houses. He had never been meant to be Hokage and Naruto never should have been his son! Minato and his cursed seed always stood in the way, ruining everything Hiashi had ever wanted for himself, stealing everything that had ever mattered. Suki was gone, Neji a shattered wreck, his clan decimated and Kushina… Hiashi squeezed his eyes tight against the tears. Even the thought of her, even after decades of forced composure, made him ache.

She drove him mad, the gentle red-haired kitsune and her unearthly beauty so long extinguished. The sputtering of the lamp was too loud and the tangerine glow of its flickering light reminded him so strongly of her, of the scarlet silk of Kushina's long red hair and the dazzling flames of her jutsu. He imagined, as he often did, the son she would have carried for him. A brilliant child with hair as dark and crimson as fine grape wine and perfect control of the Byuukugan, the kind of son whom he could hold above all others. The kind of child his worthlessly sentimental daughter would never be, a true heir to the Hyuuga clan, a conqueror to bring the rest of the world to heel. Yes, the image of him was so clear and perfect, of the boy who should have been his son and heir if Naruto had never been born. Of the life he could have had if only Kushina were his wife instead of Minato's.

"Why?" Hiashi asked to no one, gazing at his own scowling reflection in the dim lamplight.

There were no answers. He was utterly alone with his failures. The Hyuuga clan-head struck the knuckled of his hand against the edge of the large pool hard enough to make it splinter, wincing slightly as the jagged wood pierced his skin. Blood, weirdly cool in the heat of the bath, ran down his fingers to mix with the soot. What a waste. He chuckled quietly, the sound raw and just a bit mad. Hiashi thought briefly of his ancestors as he sat bleeding into the murky darkness, of his own proud father and the hundreds of other heroes and subjugators who had built the Hyuuga line long ago from nothing more than steel and will. Hyuuga survived when other clans and factions fizzled out of existence, they grew when others wasted away, the perfect combination of brilliance and ruthless initiative.

That was his blood, the same power which reigned supreme through the age of fire, the same blood which subdued the demon hordes at the beginning of time. The small laceration was the only injury he'd suffered to his body in the conflict with House Uzumaki, but Hiashi felt crushed anyway, his mind and spirit at the very brink of utter ruination. The damn oni may very well have conquered him, crushed his psyche without ever laying a claw against his skin and that was too fucking pathetic to believe. Was he really so weak as to allow such indignity? Did indignity even matter when everyone was dead?

His ancestors were all great men; certainly the source of his pride, but Hiashi resisted the temptation to cogitate too strongly on what their opinion of the current situation might have been. The dead were dead for a reason. He may join them soon enough anyway. The assault, so carefully planned and precisely executed, failed miserably. Naruto was coming for them, a demon deity enraged by the loss of his damaged little whore, and there would be nothing he could do to stop him. The might of the ancient Hyuuga clan would be broken and the ashes scattered, a faded memory just as the Uchihas were, and then nothing would stand in the way of Naruto's fucking peasant revolution. Hiashi scowled.

No. No, he was thinking about the entire situation incorrectly, allowing the loss of so many fine people in the initial assault warp his strategy, letting the defeat of one battle cloud his judgment about the course of an entire war! Few wars were won with a single blow and even fewer against a force like Naruto's pack. Some losses were to be expected in a war for control of an entire kingdom, it was natural that people should die and the war lords of the past would have barely blinked at the death toll such as it was. Too many decades of peace had made them soft, but not for long. Hiashi grinned as the pieces slowly began to fall together into a recognizable pattern, a strategy against which there would be no defense, something that would slay even a god much less a demon. He'd been thinking about all of it from the wrong perspective, considering Naruto as a force of nature instead of just as a man, a man with weaknesses that were just as human as his own. A man whose psychology he could exploit.

The Hyuuga offensive capability was badly damaged by the loss in the forest, true, but the jinchuuriki was not unscathed by the encounter either. The creature had lost one subordinate and sent another away in a fit of pique that made absolutely no strategic sense, leaving him alone with a pregnant female and only one functional pawn. Only Naruto and Sasuke remained to face him, only two exhausted opponents against dozens of fresh Hyuuga veterans. Even without the force of sheer numbers stacked in their favor, Hiashi still had one last weapon up his sleeve, one that the damn jinchuuriki had been kind enough to place back into his grasp. Hiashi smirked. Neji was under the thrall. There was still a way to win.

OoOoOoO

Kiba awoke slowly to the cacophony of barking, wincing a bit at the noise and the bright sunlight slanting like a razor through a crack in the thick wooden shutters. Even with his eyelids half singed, he was barely awake, fatigue dragging heavily on his flesh even as the sound of the dog's voices vibrated through his body. He was sore and the room felt strange, even though it was his room. The orientation of the brightly colored pillows and the thick sheepskin furs was exactly how he remembered, everything in it's place. The barking seemed louder than he remembered though, more shocking, a herald of something else that was very, very wrong with the world outside. For a few disorienting moments Kiba simply lay among the familiar furs of his childhood bed and listened to the dogs bark boisterously as they always did before reality settled itself around him. He gasped. He was home, safe with his little band of underage misfits, but Hinata was still a prisoner and his new family was at war. At any moment, Naruto might be burning the Hyuuga compound to the ground with his wife still trapped inside it!

"Fuck!" Kiba barked, sitting up and groaning at how dizzy and ill the sudden motion made him feel.

"Easy boy, there's still time." Granny chuckled harshly, her voice as raspy as ever.

The Inuzuka matriarch sat at the edge of the bed as if she'd always been there, not a single strand of her hair out of place, her staff resting between her knees in a way that conveyed to the world that she didn't necessarily need it. Granny always looked confident, but today she was practically glowing, exuding a soft kind of excitement that was as quiet and deep as the very ocean. Something made Kiba think that the old woman was already aware of what was happening and that the mess Hiashi had pulled the Hyuuga clan into with Naruto pleased her as much as it annoyed her.

"Time for what?" Kiba asked, wincing as pain from a thousand forgotten injuries lanced through his awareness.

"Time for one clan to fall and another to rise and thankfully Inuzuka won't be either of them." She laughed softly, but the sound was menacing too. Kiba shivered.

"Things are happening Granny! I can't just lie around! My wife, my men…" Kiba hissed painfully, holding his ribs with one hand and hunting about for a shirt with the other.

"You mean those little half-frozen puppies? Peh, even I know what a man looks like and that's a bit of a far cry to be sure…Even for Hyuuga…" Granny laughed gruffly, voice like ancient leaves rubbed over rusting metal, gripping her staff as she bent over in glee.

"This ain't funny Granny! People are dyin'!" Kiba barked, showing his teeth impertinently.

"People die, boy! People live and die and that's just life! There's nothing to be gained with bull-headed impatience!" Granny snapped, her manner and posture suddenly crackling with authority as her rheumy eyes narrowed.

"Naruto's on the warpath, Granny! He's furious and…and you've never seen anything like what he can become!" Kiba said, biting his lip as the memory of the gigantic spirit beast shook him once again.

The monstrous colossus, a heaving storm with eyes glowing like lightning, wind and terrible intent impossibly made flesh to walk upon the world like the forgotten gods of ancient times. Kiba remembered the feeling of utter insignificance as those amber orbs turned upon him, the way the very air screamed as Naruto moved past with his attendant cyclones. The jinchuuriki was unstoppable that way and, even worse, Kiba knew his friend was unstable. So much elemental power uncaged could only lead to destruction. He shuddered. Hiashi was the very worst kind of idiot and he'd awoken a sleeping titan, one that none of them had any hope of slaying, one that would only be pacified by the total annihilation of Hinata's family. Granny was wise, but they didn't have nearly as much time as she thought.

"The jinchuuriki will do as it must to reclaim balance for the world." The Inuzuka matriarch intoned, almost to herself, rubbing the glossy wood of her staff thoughtfully, "Thankfully for us, Naruto's wrath is directed against an old enemy instead of a friend."

"Hina isn't our enemy, Granny, and Naruto isn't an 'it' either! Hiashi may have dug his own grave, but I don't think Naruto's gonna be very balanced about much of anything. We have a damn situation!" Kiba argued, breathing shallowly around the fractured ribs he still could not remember breaking.

"Do not underestimate a jinchuuriki." Granny hissed.

"I'm not! I just need to get Hina out of his way before…before something really bad happens!" Kiba snapped defensively.

"Al this is not unexpected, pup. His subordinate was killed. What can he do, but rage?" Granny sighed, looking almost concerned for a moment.

"Oh shit." Kiba whispered, "Which one?"

"Sai."

That was bad, very bad, and not made better by the fact that Kiba did not know the artist well enough to anticipate how Naruto might react to his loss. Losing Sasuke would break Naruto into a quivering mess and losing Sakura would simply kill him, but Sai…? Losing a subordinate only newly claimed and yet so close to team 7 would be a more complicated problem. No one really knew how Naruto loved Sai. Kiba knew his friend had been casually fond of the emotionless artist for years, but their relationship had clearly become romantic. Loss of a lover, loss of that lover, might only send the jinchuuriki into a fit of homicidal rage.

"Kami! He might be attacking already, the whole compound could be destroyed! We need to formulate a diversion or a counterattack or a covert strike! We need to do it now!" Kiba howled.

From his place on the floor, Akamaru sat up onto his haunches, whining softly in unspoken agreement. Granny glared for a moment at Kiba and then cast her gaze onto the dog who whimpered and dropped his head back down onto his paws in an obvious show of acquiescence, the traitor. Kiba huffed, pulling the shirt over his head in a stubborn and shockingly painful show of pride. Granny rolled her eyes and tapped her staff thoughtfully with her long, yellow fingernails.

"Be still and rest awhile, boy. The attack has not yet begun and there is still far too much to do…"

"My wife is locked in the Hyuuga complex, Granny! I have to go save her…!" Kiba snarled.

"Go and do what? Spit on Hiashi's pride just to watch it sizzle? Have some damn sense boy!" Granny said, pounding the heel of her staff against the floor for emphasis. Akamaru whined again.

"You can't expect me to sit here and do nothing while my woman burns to death for crimes she never committed!" Kiba seethed, growling under his breath.

"I expect no such thing. What I expect is for you to gather our forces and assist in organizing a tactical strike so that when the time comes, when the opening in the typhoon presents itself, we can rescue Hinata without insulting an angry, grieving and mentally unstable kitsune!" Granny spat at last.

"Well," Kiba grumbled, crossing his arms, "Why didn't ya just say so?"

"I swear! Talking to young people is like chasing puppies, ya never quite catch them and yet you keep running anyway," Granny sighed, "No one can know our plans, least of all Hinata."

"Why not? She'd never do anything…"

"Because anyone can be tortured for the truth, Kiba. Even Sasuke defected eventually." Granny argued.

"They can't torture her! She's pregnant!" Kiba howled half throwing himself off the bed.

Patiently, Granny leaned down to grab Kiba painfully by his overlong hair, hair that he'd grown out in solidarity to the damn Hyuugas. She tugged sharply, neatly short circuiting the adrenaline pounding through his veins and unbalanced his rather precarious position on the edge of the bed. Kiba toppled onto the floor, half dazed with the pain in his ribs. He snarled.

"Running out to yap like a pup at Hiashi's gates ain't gonna help her, boy! She's safer as long as hiashi thinks you're dead!" Granny snapped.

"Hiashi doesn't have the first…wait, what?" Kiba asked.

"Hiashi. Thinks. You. Are. Dead." Granny said, using the same voice she had when he was a three-year old.

"But, he saw me, saw me desert…I…I don't understand."

"All the bastard knows is that you fought with one of Sasuke's clones at the river and that the battle ended with a tremendous explosion. Naruto kept him far too busy to be doing things like retrieving bodies. As far as Hiashi is concerned, you're lying at the bottom go the river along with all his escaped teenage enlistees." Granny smirked.

"Oh," Kiba said, eyes widening, "Well, that changes everything."

"Yes indeed, boy. Yes, indeed!" Granny cackled.

"But, what if Hinata…"

"Her messenger leaves as we speak. I have given your woman my blessing to begin." Granny said, smiling like a cat with a mouse.

"Begin what?" Kiba asked, confused.

"Begin her assault, I assume. I have only received rudimentary details, your princess only says what she must, like all Hyuugas. Still, we can anticipate her actions well enough knowing only that she is moving against Hiashi." Granny said, her gravelly voice practically gleeful.

"What's in the message?" Kiba asked.

"A formal surrender to clan Inuzuka written and signed by Hinata as Clan Head complete with terms."

"That doesn't make any sense Granny! Hyuuga's at war with Uzumaki, they ain't got nothing to do with us!" Kiba huffed.

"She's inviting us to intervene, boy! And she's doin' it in a way that Hiashi can't simply disregard! We are free to support her against either of them!" Granny whispered urgently.

"You're just guessing…"

"Maybe, but this is all the information we need to prepare. All that's left is to watch and wait." Granny shrugged.

"I haven't been able to speak with her directly." Kiba admitted, feeling frustrated that his wife's intrigue had gone on without his direct involvement.

"She knows this, she must. The point, Kiba, is that she trusts you to support her designs without full disclosure…"

"How can I when I don't know what's goin' on!?" Kiba snarled angrily.

"Simple. You just watch and act with your gut." Granny said.

OoOoOoO

People were talking, but Neji could barely hear them. He felt numbed, anesthetized in both body and mind like a corpse forgotten beneath the snow, frozen for a thousand years without ever seeing light. The words passed over him, like whispers from a dream, dimmed into nothingness by the roaring inside his own soul. The pain, the sucking void where Sai used to somehow reside in his awareness combined with the wracking agony of Naruto's rejection occupied his attention completely and everything else was reduced to a shadow. Just the memory of Naruto's angry blues eyes and the deeper pain of knowing that Neji would never be permitted to tuck Sakura's hair behind her ears or nip Sasuke's throat again was so vast, so terrible, that the veritable chaos of the Hyuuga compound barely penetrated.

Naruto knew about his betrayal, about the delicate dance he'd tried to perform between the two clans in secrecy, and the Jinchuuriki blamed him personally for Sai's death. Neji blamed himself as well. The shame of the artist's loss felt like frozen lead in his veins, too heavy to move and even if he could, what would be the point? Naruto had thrown him away. Naruto didn't love him anymore. He was no longer a member of the pack, nothing more than a bloodless hand smote from the body, a severed limb lying useless on the ground. The sun had fallen from the sky and nothing would ever be able to fill the aching chasm of its loss.

Neji walked back to the Hyuuga compound and presented himself to Hiashi for debriefing, but he remembered very little about anything that happened. Everything that may or may not have occurred after Naruto exiled him was an ice-cold blur, a silent recording, totally blank of feeling, as though every moment was experienced by someone else. Hiashi asked him questions, tried to speak with him, slapped his face in frustration, but the whole conversation seemed muted in his recollections. His uncle ordered and cajoled and railed, but Neji couldn't bring himself to care. They were all dead anyway so what was to be gained? As commanded by his alpha, Neji delivered the message clearly and without faltering, but other than Naruto's pronouncement, there was nothing. There was nothing at all after that.

The very last shred of Naruto's mercy fell on deaf ears and Neji stopped listening as the argument brewed and spun in worthless circles. His mind was already far away, too far to hear the words of dead men not yet in their graves bickering over useless details of a battle they would surely lose. His thoughts seemed to slow and he didn't resist the feeling. Neji couldn't remember if he was kneeling on purpose or if that was just the way his body had fallen when his legs gave out, if maybe he'd been standing before, if it would be worthwhile to expend the energy to lay down and die properly.

People came and went and he knelt where the guards placed him hours before or maybe only minutes, maybe days had passed, maybe no time at all. Maybe everyone was dead and the voices whispering around him were nothing more than the agitated echoes of his own useless mind. The world was gray and distant, like an old photo with all the faces too weathered to make out enough to recognize, paper too worn to even hold its form. Neji breathed because his diaphragm was contracting, but even his own flesh felt numb and thick, just cold meat the same as his dead cousins lying under the snow in Naruto's forest. All he could hear was Naruto's angry voice, playing over and over again. Naruto's hot pain, his anger and betrayal, the feel of death in his voice and a day and a night…a day and a night and no more than that.

"A day and a night, he said…" Someone gasped, "Only 19 hours until the creature attacks!"

"Don't be ridiculous, no one can breach our walls…"

"We're all going to die."

"Can't we at least take the children…?"

The chatter was recognizably language and it even made a detached kind of sense, but the effort of processing even a fraction of the conversation was like slogging through frozen mud. Neji blinked and tried to think, but his mind felt paralyzed, whirring uselessly like the gears of a watch that had been disconnected from its hands. People were still speaking, arguing maybe or strategizing, and he could only sit in the midst of their buzzing and stare. Whatever they said, it didn't matter.

"Kami!" Someone exclaimed, "What's wrong with him?"

"He's under the thrall, his mind must be broken…" Someone else whispered, disgusted.

"How could he do that to him? His own nephew!"

"He just sits there, how long is he just going to sit there…?"

"There's not a scratch on him anywhere and still…fuck…it's like he's not even in there anymore!"

Neji was there, sort of, drifting between the present and the past without any particular anchor. Sai was dead in either case and Naruto did not love him. He never imagined losing a lover could hurt so much or that the death of someone he barely knew, and usually disagreed with, would feel so much like dying himself. Jinchuuriki packs were complicated, Neji understood the concept more than even Anko knew, but he'd never expected Naruto's family to be so beautiful. Neji never expected to be living without the fortress of their love or that he would find the experience so utterly worthless.

OoOoOoO

"Dobe," Sasuke whispered, "This doesn't make any sense."

"It's simple, Teme. It's vengeance." Naruto hissed as he tightened down the straps on his heavy combat boots.

"I thought you didn't believe in killing for vengeance." Sasuke hissed darkly, his heart fluttering sickeningly at the darkness in Naruto's tone, "I thought you knew better!"

"I've been re-educated." Naruto said coldly.

"The threat is nullified, Naruto, and Sakura is close, really close…" Sasuke argued urgently, toying with the fastenings of his own gear nervously.

"That's why we have to kill them. We can't let them live or our daughter will never be safe…" Naruto growled, handing clenched into shaking fists.

"Kill who, Naruto? Hinata? Hanabi? The whole CLAN?!" Sasuke shouted, losing his temper at last.

"YES dammit! Every LAST one of them! They're ALL a threat to us!" Naruto shrieked back, jerking a knife into the sheath against his thigh with an angry thrust.

"Will you just LISTEN to yourself?! You honestly think you're going to massacre every person in that compound, what about the children…!"

"Children grow up to become threats, Sasuke. Don't think that I don't know what this means…"

"I don't think you have ANY idea what this means! If we manage to survive this, you'll never forgive yourself for it! NEVER!" Sasuke roared, his voice echoing against the polished floors of their home.

"I don't NEED forgiveness!" Naruto spat.

"Everyone needs forgiveness, you fucking moron! I…I of all people should know." Sasuke said, quietly this time despite the urgent pounding of his pulse in his ears.

Naruto was quiet at that, jaw working as he ground his teeth, his fangs, in unspoken acknowledgement that Sasuke did have a point and that he could not come up with a compelling counter-argument. A tiny flicker of hope lit itself in Sasuke's chest, but he knew Naruto too well for the little spark to warm him much. Despite all the well-reasoned arguments in the world, despite the tears and the pleading and all damn logic, Naruto was far too stubborn to listen to anyone except Kyuubi. He and the Fox had come to some completely bizarre internal accord during the battle and, of course, the demon agreed whole heartedly in the ruthless destruction of an entire clan to avenge the loss of a single loved one. The logic wasn't human, nothing that Sasuke could make any kind of sense out of when Naruto tried to explain it, but clearly the demon's opinion appealed to some deeper, more primitive part of his alpha's spirit and it was the only justification he seemed to need. Even without the Fox, Naruto was hopelessly stubborn by nature. His alpha had ignored everyone when they said that Sasuke himself couldn't be saved and he ignored everyone when they said he'd never be a decent ninja. Naruto was used to ignoring people and the fact that they were even still arguing was a testament to his affection for him. Sasuke took a breath through his nose and tried not to fidget.

"I refuse to lose another member of this family to them." He snarled at last.

"Then don't! You and I could both die doing this…" Sasuke pleaded.

"I'm not afraid to die, dammit! It's better than just letting them do as they please with our lives!" Naruto hissed.

"Our baby will be protected once she's born, we can promise her to Suna, you know Gaara will agree!" Sasuke said, gripping Naruto's shoulders.

The blond's eyes were red and furious with too much weeping and very little sleep, but he met Sasuke's gaze steadily, the stillness of his indigo irises almost unnerving. Sasuke fancied that he could almost see the Fox, the ancient demon so perfectly aligned with Naruto's own spirit that they were practically one. He shivered, but refused to let go. After a few moments of tension, Naruto sighed and covered Sasuke's gloved hand with his own. The raven gave his alpha's broad shoulders a squeeze and for a moment the world stilled to a more manageable pace, the feeling almost an echo of a time before Sai's death, when the argument would have ended with lovemaking instead of only more silence. Sasuke felt like years had passed since they had kissed, but Naruto was still running his tongue nervously over the long fangs in his mouth, half-mad with grief and anger. Kisses were something only bought with peace and they were already at war, despite anything he had to say, but the loss ached anyway.

The bedroom seemed colder than before, littered with armor, weapons, Kevlar reinforced flak jackets and steel girded gloves instead of Sakura's lacy bras or Nejis' slippers. Sakura herself had started sleeping in Sai's old bedroom, tired of fighting with Naruto and too exhausted by the pregnancy to do anything except try to sleep the grief away. The bed was neatly made, but the ochre bedding seemed dull, uncomfortable, and no one had actually slept in the room for days. The soft glow of romance was gone from their home, replaced by restlessness and efficiency, and he could barely recognize the rooms of his own childhood house. Everything that might be damaged in a siege was carefully put away, the heavy steel-enforced siege shutters pulled tightly closed over all the windows, the kitchen stocked to the ceiling with crates of rations. The only light permitted was the disorienting glow of red-green lanterns, something difficult for an enemy archer to localize, and the tables were covered with poison tipped arrows, crossbow bolts, flash grenades and smoke bombs. Even with the clutter, the rooms felt too empty, the dark wood of the floors like a yawning, black lake underfoot. Sasuke sighed. He'd forgotten what it felt like to be at war, to return to the Spartan ideals of their training. Once he would have embraced the change, leapt into the emptiness without regret or reservation, but now he longed for peace.

"A marriage can't save our daughter any more than it saved Neji. Love doesn't save people…it didn't save Sai." Naruto whispered at last.

"It's isn't about love, dobe! It's an alliance!" Sasuke pushed.

"They don't care about alliances, Sasuke!" Naruto said.

"They DO, you total idiot! That's why they're targeting you in the first place!" Sasuke shouted, releasing Naruto's shoulders with an irate shove.

"I'm going Sasuke, either come with me or stay here. The choice is yours." Naruto said, pulling the Kevlar mask hanging from his neck over the lower portion of his face and tying it behind his head with a little jerk of finality. Sasuke sighed.

"Of course I'm coming." He said, tying his own mask in a similar fashion.

"They have to pay," Naruto said, brushing his masked lips against Sasuke's jaw.

"They will." The dark haired murderer agreed.

Sasuke pushed the roiling emotion from his mind, focusing instead only on the icy hate still festering the place where Sai used to be in his consciousness. The anger radiating off of Naruto was more than enough to fuel his own rage, the rage that once consumed him, the blood-lust only sated with combat. Sasuke turned away to equip his weapons. His alpha wanted vengeance and at least that was something he knew how to do.

OoOoOoO

The guard was someone Hinata did not know well, but he was very young and, hopefully, impressionable enough to listen to reason instead of blindly following Hiashi's orders. The Hyuuga heiress wanted to take as many people as she could, but the truth of the matter was that without confirmation from house Inuzuka, she may have to take them all the way to Suna. Crossing Grass country with a horde of young children in tow would be difficult and the life of a refugee, especially one associated with the clan responsible for an attack on Naruto, would have a cool reception in the desert nation at best. At worse, Gaara may choose to just kill them on sight. She sighed. There were no good options without Inuzuka, but she had a little more time, patience was key. Either way, Hinata preferred taking the chance to rescue even a few of her people rather than letting them all just die here for her father's pride and with Naruto on the warpath people would die.

With a slow, silent exhalation to calm her nerves, the Hyuuga princess poured herself another cup of green tea. Her hands were steady enough on the handle of the teapot, but Hinata knew her mouth was trembling anyway. She never had been able to hide her emotions as well as Neji, but she was no longer ashamed for having them either, something her cousin might never learn. The time was almost upon her and she would have to simply do what she could, moving to wrestle leadership from Hiashi without even a hint of hesitation. She could take control of the clan and Naruto's assault actually served her purposes beautifully, even if she never wanted things to end up this way, even if she wished with every fiber of her being that she had moved ahead with her plans earlier.

The problem was the Kiba didn't know exactly what she was planning and he couldn't know as long as Hiashi held him as a hostage against her good behavior, but they had talked enough for her husband to have a reasonable idea about her intentions. Moreover, the Inuzuka matriarch probably already guessed that a coup was afoot and Granny was nothing if not ruthless when an opportunity presented itself. Hinata glanced again at her young guard, trying not to tap her fingers as the minutes ticked by until Hanabi's return.

"What's your name." The Hyuuga princess whispered at last, pleased when the boy startled at the sudden noise.

"Sen, my lady." He answered, bowing politely.

"I'm happy that you were not sent with the rest for the assault. I hear than many people died." Hinata whispered softly.

"Many did." Sen replied and his voice was cold with some deeper anger.

Hinata cursed to herself and hoped that whatever grudge Sen was nursing wouldn't interfere with his judgment. Her guard detail had been reduced to only one, very young soldier, but Hanabi wouldn't hesitate to strike the boy's head from his shoulders if he did so much as delay their plans. Her sister was wound too tightly, the stress of too many secrets pressing heavily on her mind and fraying her already fragile patience. Hanabi was a good girl, a good person, but she could be surprisingly sadistic when forced too far for too long.

"I wouldn't have wouldn't have planned that attack, there was no reason to sacrifice so many." Hinata probed again, trying to discern the level of Sen's loyalty to Hiashi.

"My brothers didn't die for no reason." He snapped, silver eye flashing.

"What if they did, would you want to join them?" Hinata said, tiring of subtlety

"They died trying to kill a demon, with honor. I'd be happy to die that way." Sen argued.

"They died for a madman's pride, nothing more." Hinata replied tonelessly, staring at her hands.

"They said you were a traitor."

"Am I? Who's the traitor really? Is it a pregnant woman locked alone in a cage, crying for the deaths of her cousins? Or is it the man heedlessly throwing your lives away to satisfy his own insecurity?" Hinata answered levelly.

"You're trying to confuse me…"

"If you aren't confused, then you haven't been paying attention." Hinata said, moving to stand.

"Kiba, your consort, just left us! He left us all to die when we needed him the most!" Sen hissed.

"He saved everyone he could. He would have saved your brothers…"

"Lies! They said you would lie!" Sen snarled under his breath.

"Careful boy, you have a chance here. Only one. People need to think about the chances they are given or they end up like Neji." Hinata said, pinning him with her eyes, the tremor in her mouth suddenly gone.

Sen's mouth snapped shut at that and his eyes were frightened. Hinata felt her gut twist at his reaction, she hadn't actually known anything about Neji's condition, but Sen's reaction confirmed her worst fears. She sighed. Her poor, poor, misguided, abused, hopeless cousin was a good man. He deserved so much better than being jerked around for the sake of Hiashi's political intrigues, but that's exactly what mindless loyalty bought. Suddenly, Hinata heard Hanabi's tread in the hall, the girl's feet loud, booted and moving quickly, doors slamming loudly enough to make Sen jump again. Hanabi was breathing hard and the pace of her feet sounded like she was nearly running. Her time for negotiations had just run out.

"Sissy! Kiba is alive along with most of his soldiers!" Hanabi practically shouted, her voice high, strained and breathless.

"Are they with us?" Hinata asked, motioning for her sister to slow down.

"They are!" Hanabi said, her voice harsh and victorious.

"What are you talking about? Who is with you?" Sen asked, looking completely confused.

"Time to choose, Sen." Hinata said softly, turning toward him.

"Choose what?"

"Whether you want to join your brothers for Hiashi or try thinking for yourself." Hinata replied and Hanabi tensed like a tigress waiting to pounce.

The girl's posture quieted and stilled, face a perfect mask of predatory concentration. Slowly, one finger at a time, Hanabi removed her armored glove, eyes fixed on Sen's face. Her sister had been keeping secrets for too long and her inherent ruthlessness was beginning to rise. Hinata tensed. Hanabi would kill him, or worse, use the mark and send Sen into a shrieking frenzy for the entire household to hear. Hinata gestured urgently for her sister to back down, but Hanabi was no longer paying attention to anything except her prey.

"There isn't any choice!" Sen hissed, noticing only too late that the youngest of the royal household was readying herself to use the curse-mark.

"There is! Choose! Come with us!" Hinata urged, gripping the boy's hand with a sudden flash of movement.

"Don't touch me! Traitor!" Sen shrieked, jerking a long knife from the sheath strapped against his captured wrist.

"Sen, don't do this." Hinata pleaded.

"I'm loyal! I…"

Hinata didn't hesitate and her hands moved automatically, flipping the blade from the youth's nervous fingers and around into her own ready palm, disarming him in a single, fluid motion. She was weak from her confinement, but her wrist held steady as Hinata drove the sharpened steel into his belly, the hot gush of blood slippery against her fingers. Sen would have screamed, but Hinata was already moving to snap the hard edge of her other hand into his throat, fracturing his larynx and silencing the boy as she twisted the knife. Sen coughed and fell against her, eyes wide with pain and terror, twitching like a panicked rabbit caught in a snare. Hanabi gasped from behind Hinata's shoulder as the Hyuuga princess drove the blade deeper, seeking to finish him with a single strike, the blood gushing in beating surges onto the floor. Sen gripped her hair where it trailed next to his face, tugging viciously, grimacing as the strength ebbed from his body.

"Why?" He croaked and then coughed, blood speckling his lips.

"So that my sister doesn't have to." Hinata said gently and held his mouth shut as he died.

OoOoOoO

Sakura bit into her fingers, the grief and frustration almost too much to bear and yet she had to watch them, watch the last of her family as they tightened the straps on one another's armor or risk losing the opportunity to ever see them again. Naruto and Sasuke stood face to face, systematically checking each-other's gear, a satchel of deadly weapons slung in a shoulder bag over each man's back. Sakura had been crying so much and for so long, crying for Sai and even for Neji, crying because her home lay in ransacked ruins and her men were going off to die. The whole plan was so stupid, so utterly pointless, but Naruto would not yield to reason or anything else. He was out for blood and she knew as well as anyone that her golden haired husband was an unstoppable force once he managed to make up his mind, the Hyuuga's were already dead as far as she was concerned.

"Will you at least bring Neji home?" Sakura asked at last, her knuckles raw and bleeding as the baby moved within her.

"He betrayed us." Naruto said, but his tone wasn't the same brutish, unreasonable growl that she'd become inured to.

"I know baby, but I don't think he meant to. I think he was trying to keep us safe." Sakura pushed, heaving herself up to stand, hoping she looked more authoritative than she felt.

Naruto looked at her, considering. Sakura fought the urge to fix her hair or wipe at the tears still drying on her face. The girl was still wearing her mourning clothes, the energy to change seeming far too daunting to bother with and if she did…if she took the white clothes off and put them away, then Sai might really feel dead. Sakura wept at his funeral, she watched as Naruto and Sasuke carried his bier, but the empty place in her heart where Sai's love used to be wasn't cold and numb. The chasm inside was agonizing, hot and piercing, keeping her awake when the rest of her body cried for sleep. Sakura ached in her spirit like a wound trying to heal, like an arrowhead lodged deep in a muscle, a muscle locked in spasm trying to push it out. Sai felt gone somehow, the line to his spirit disconnected, but Sakura's body could not seem to come to agreement about whether or not he was dead. She was exhausted and her chakra was confused from Sasuke and Neji's makeshift re-routing away from her womb; eventually she might be able to accept the death of her beloved artist, but not yet…She had more important things to do.

"Neji should be with us. You've punished him enough." Sasuke agreed, crossing his arms, the glowing scarlet of his sharingan spinning with some unseen emotion.

"He made his choice…" Naruto argued hesitantly.

"I think you made it for him, dear." Sakura snapped, her frayed nerves finally giving way to her temper.

"He delivered your message. He fought against them, killed his own family to protect Sakura, the least you can do is let him come home…if he's even still alive." Sasuke whispered darkly and Naruto shivered.

"If I do, how will he ever forgive me?" The blonde asked softly and Sakura wasn't sure if she was talking to her or the Fox again.

"Maybe you and he can work on that together." Sakura said, the tone more tart than she'd intended.

"Woman, for the last time…!" Naruto shouted, but Sakura cut him off.

"You think I'll just stand by without an argument and watch you go off to die while I stay here to…to…ALONE! I REFUSE Naruto! FUCK you!" Sakura roared, pressing herself into Naruto's space.

"You can't fight like this, our baby…" Sasuke said gently.

"Our baby needs you BOTH, she need her family to be alive when she's born! We've lost so much already!" Sakura wailed.

"Sakura, please…" Naruto pleaded.

"I'm NOT asking much of you! If you have to go take your stupid revenge, an eye for an eye…if it means so much to you, I clearly can't stop you," The woman cried, gesturing to her distended belly, "But I want Neji home! I want him back and so do you! He's MINE just…just as you are!"

"I will bring him back if I can…" Naruto sighed.

"Promise me! You promise me this now and don't you DARE die!" Sakura roared.

"I promise." Naruto and Sasuke said in unison.

The two men moved to hold her then and even though Sakura felt like fighting, like smashing and breaking, she let them pull her into the embrace. She sobbed, holding onto the edges of Naruto's armor like she would the edge of a cliff, feeling the world lurch beneath her feet. They kissed, fast and desperately, hands moving into her hair and against her body. For a moment, Sakura almost felt steady, felt like she could stand tall and protect those she loved, but then they were gone. Naruto and Sasuke left her arms and turned away as one, neither offering a single word, but there was nothing more to say anyway. The moved in perfect synchrony, like deadly spirits, and a chill settled into her blood. Jogging into the night like just another pair of shadows in the growing darkness, their footsteps so silent that she had to settle for the sound of their breathing, her precious men went to war. Sakura hoped that it was at least a war they could win.

For several breaths she simply stood, brooding on the silence of the house and her own furious heartbeat as the night seemed to still with weight of too many sinister intentions. The baby kicked again, hard, and Sakura lay a quelling hand against her own abdomen almost out of reflex. Clan Uzumaki was at war with clan Hyuuga, but the matriarch sat at home drenched in her own tears, totally helpless to do anything for her people. She laughed bitterly at the irony of the situation. Sakura had often wondered what a clan war might be like and her imagination had always managed to produce something truly gruesome, but nothing as shameful as this. It was stupid; the whole thing was so unbelievably stupid! Sakura had never thought of herself as a strong or beautiful until she met Naruto and Sasuke, but she had never felt as ugly, helpless or useless as she did now. The choking self-consciousness that she struggled with as a girl bubbled up from withi, along with the certainty that even if she had all the power in the world there was still nothing to be done.

There was a part of her that wondered why she had ever thought that she could do this, why she ever even imagined herself capable of something like being the head of a jinchuuriki pack or the matriarch of a house, but she ignored the niggling doubts. Doubt was something for children and foot soldiers, not leaders, and Sakura wasn't the scared, embarrassed little girl she used to be. The woman took a trembling breath through her nose and then another until her heartbeat slowed and her hands became steady. Her value as a warrior was compromised, but that didn't mean she was incapable, not by far. She had friends and powerful connections and if there were ever a time to use them, then that time was now! There was no way to stop the war, but she'd be damned if she didn't win it!

Resolved, Sakura pulled a Summons from her sleeve and prepared to activate the seal binding the creature. Naruto had refused to involve Tsunade in the dispute, getting weirdly territorial about Hiashi's destruction, but the older woman had seen her share of clan struggles and the least she could do was ask for a bit of advice. If the battle turned, Sakura could be facing a siege alone in her house and that was not a situation she was prepared to face alone. Even as she bit into her thumb, however, she felt it: A deep pain rolling in a pressing wave through her belly. She gasped and shook her head. There was no way! No way! She should still have a few more weeks, Tsunade said three more weeks at least and probably more! Not less! Not now! Sakura sat down on the bed and tried to think rationally, tried to think clinically, but the pain hit her again. This was her first pregnancy and Sakura had certainly never felt a contraction before, but the sheer terror of what the feeling might mean lanced like a frozen shard into her heart. Her baby couldn't come now!

"No, no, no! Please, please wait!" Sakura whispered, gripping her belly with both hands.

For a moment she simply sat, her fingers tingling with the beginnings of hyperventilation, teeth chattering. She almost called to Naruto, but her husband's emotions were far away, filled with burning battle-rage, and growing farther with every step. He was moving quickly and Sakura couldn't risk compromising him now, not when he could already be engaged with the Hyuugas. She could not know for certain that the battle was not already beginning and if he was distracted…She bit her lip. The woman masked her emotions instead, pulling away from him and into the silence of her own mind, trying to find more space. She needed to think logically instead being preoccupied with the carnage her mates where currently wreaking on the Hyuugas. In her mind, Sakura knew that the pain was probably nothing, just the practice contractions Tsunade had warned her about, but she was still afraid. Either way, she didn't have to sit here alone just because Naruto was too stubborn to ask for help! With one last gasp, Sakura finished her jutsu and sent the Summons, a white rabbit, to her sensei with all the speed she could muster.

OoOoOoO

Kiba dressed in his armor, trying to stretch his sore, cold, stiff muscles back into usefulness in the process instead of taking the time to warm up properly. Every decent ninja knew that going into combat without the proper conditioning was incredibly stupid, but every heartbeat that passed only brought him closer to the brink of true panic. Hinata expected him to follow along with a plan that he'd never been briefed on, perform an operation completely blind, and she could call at any time, in any way, or not at all. The uncertainty was unsettling and the endless minutes of waiting even worse. Kiba couldn't shake the worry that things were happening without him, the gears of a vast machine moving without his knowledge towards a fate that he had no way to prepare for. He sighed. Sometime a dog had to keep his nose to the wind, but he'd never been a particularly patient person.

Even the familiar weight of his clan furs, favorite weapons and hardened leather armor felt strange after so many months of silk robes and hidden blades, almost stifling against his frantically pounding heart. No matter what he chose to do tonight, nothing would be the same and Kiba had never had so much to lose. There was a knock at his door and suddenly Akamaru was on his feet and happily barking like a pup.

"Enter!" Kiba shouted, trusting the dog's reaction enough not to look towards the door.

"Kiba-sama, we are ready." Yumi's polite, cultured voice came from the portal.

"Eh?" Kiba said, startled.

He turned to see his entire squad of under-aged soldiers bowing low on the furs and cushions of his bedroom floor. The boys were dressed in the traditional battle-dress of Inuzuka ninja, long white furs spread on the ground around their bowed shoulders, their faces freshly tattooed with the scarlet triangles that represented the hallmark of the dog-clan. He could see also that three of Yumi's fingers had been amputated at the first joint, likely dead with frost-bite and taken to prevent gangrene, but despite the fresh injuries the boy gripped his bow fearlessly. The others were in similar condition, with ears and hands bandaged with the evidence of too much exposure and not even a hint of hesitation anywhere in their scent or posture. For a moment, Kiba simply stared, too moved to speak.

"We are ready to fight, milord!" Aki piped up from just behind Yumi's left shoulder, his silver eyes fierce above the newly cut tattoos.

"I ain't your lord, boys. I don't deserve ya…" Kiba began.

"We are ready, milord!" One of the others, probably Kaze, shouted.

They stood, facing him resolutely, their long, dark brown hair braided into tight rows along their skulls or pulled into high, shaggy tails, each boy different and yet unified by the textures in their armor and the blood-red markings on their faces. Unlike the Hyuuga clan which sought to make their warriors appear all the same, Inuzuka celebrated individuality and focused on an appearance that could easily be recognized on the battlefield. Even with their shining silver eyes and delicate bones, his soldier's didn't look like Hyuuga commoners anymore, but like Inuzuka knights in full regalia. The pride welling up in his chest was so deep and so new that Kiba could barely breathe.

"You need to rest. I didn't save yer little asses for my health ya know, no point dying now…" He began, voice trembling only a little.

"We'll rest when we claim victory!" Aki said hotly, grinning like a madman.

"Or in the grave." Yumi added.

"Very well then, brats," Kiba sighed, "I guess we're going to war."

OoOoOoO

Hinata took only what she needed, a few scrolls of the clan's most precious jutsu and enough serviceable clothing to make it through Grass country and Gaara's desert if she had to. Hanabi packed similarly, the girl throwing a stuffed doll into her pack at the very last second along with her weapons and rations. She was still just a child, a child torn away from the only home she knew, but there was no other way and Hanabi was wise enough even now to recognize that. The Inuzuka matriarch accepted her surrender, but if Naruto insisted on exterminating every person of the Hyuuga line, he would not be satisfied by words alone and they might still need to flee. Hinata hoped not, she hoped that her friend was not so far gone in his grief that he couldn't recognize her intentions, but Naruto was never a person to do anything halfway. If he came to make war on them, no one was safe.

"Sissy, why can't we just go to Naruto and ask him not to hurt us?" Hanabi asked softly.

"Naruto isn't himself right now, he hasn't been since Sai died." Hinata answered, sighing.

"Why? He has Sasuke and Cousin too, why does he need Sai?" Hanabi huffed, frustration thick in her tone.

"Why do you need that dolly?" Hinata asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hanabi's face flushed hot with embarrassment for a moment before the girl realized that her sister was not, in fact, making fun of her, but trying to explain. Hanabi's lips puckered a moment and she stroked the place in her pack where the old toy resided, fingers completely girded in the steel reinforcements of her gloves. It was odd to watch Hanabi's hands, obviously equipped for battle, moving in the same slow circles as they had when she was a baby trying to fall asleep. Hinata nodded to her and Hanabi turned away, hiding beneath the wide brim of her straw traveling hat, her breath sounding almost like a sob for a moment.

"I hate this." The girl said at last.

"It's war." Hinata shrugged, buckling her own gloves.

"I thought war was supposed to be glorious and exciting! I thought we were supposed to win! This is just running away…" The girl grumbled, hands clenched into fists.

"No, Sissy. This is what war really is like and it's nothing like the stories. You were there for the battle in Naruto's forest, did that feel particularly glamorous to you?" Hinata asked, her tone carrying just a hint of sharpness.

"No, that was all just ugly."

"Now you understand." Hinata said and slung the pack over her shoulder.

They marched out of the rooms in silence, stepping over Sen's rigid body without looking down, moving quickly and masking their footsteps as much as possible. Hinata performed a series of gestures once they reached the first courtyard and Kagura appeared from the shadows, a large band of women and children following behind her carrying baskets and other parcels. Hinata was so relieved to see her that, for a moment, she could barely move at all. The woman had done what she'd asked and no one had been caught. Hinata had worried every moment until now that Kagura would have been tortured and killed by her father, but the woman was there just as they'd planned almost three months ago. Hanabi was pushing gently against her shoulder and then they were out in the open, moving under the snowy sky that she hadn't been permitted to see in months. She took and deep breath and sighed as the nagging claustrophobia of incarceration finally eased.

The gathered women said nothing, but smiled shyly at her and Hinata was pleased to see that most of the sisters, daughters and wives of the men lost in the battle days ago were present among the faces gathered. Instead of holding grudges, her people had decided to opt for a fresh start, a new way of life without the prejudices that poisoned her father. She smiled back, warmed to the core just to see it. Gesturing quickly to Kagura, Hinata managed to organize her little band of refugees into a more or less recognizable marching column with the children pressed to the center and the few women carrying weapons arrayed along the outside. Unliked Kiba's people, few of the Hyuuga women were schooled in battle beyond mere ninja basics, but they knew enough to survive in a fair fight at least for a little while. Only she and Hanabi had been permitted to attend formal battle training at the academy. Just another example of the poisonous inequality she was determined to rectify.

"Have you done as we discussed?" Hinata whispered.

"Yes, milady. All the gunpowder and explosives have been soaked with water and ruined with lye, there won't be anything Hiashi can use to carry the conflict outside these walls. All the bowstrings have been weakened and the spear heads dulled as well." Kagura reported.

"Where…where is my mother?" Hinata asked, her voice catching hard in her throat.

"The Lady gives you her blessing, but she refuses to leave. She said she will stay with her husband as a wife should, even in death, and that it was the promise she made. She said you are right to go and her heart will be at peace…" Kagura said softly.

"But, Mama! We can't just leave her!" Hanabi whimpered shaking her head.

"If she chooses to stay and die here, what can we do?" Hinata asked, shutting her eyes against the threatening tears and gritting her teeth.

"But Sissy! It isn't fair! Father's always mean to her…!" Hanabi cried.

"She has her principles and we have ours. Do what you think best, Hanabi." Hinata said, gesturing for the girl to remain silent.

"But Sissy!"

"The Lady's mind will not be changed." Kagura said sadly, shaking her head.

Hanabi trembled, clenching her hands, tears running silently down her face in the snowy darkness, but she stayed firmly at Hinata's side. The heiress closed her eyes, waiting for the sound of her sister's tread as she turned away into the snow, but the whisper of leaving feet never came and her heart finally began beating again. She was more than grateful, more than any single word could express. She'd truly thought that Hanabi would change her mind if their mother chose to remain loyal to Hiashi, but her sibling was still there, close enough to touch, weeping by her side. The firstborn Hyuuga princess swallowed hard in relief, her knees shaking just a little as the realization that her sister was still going to escape with her finally settled into her heart. At least she would have her sister, some family, after the massacre that would take place here. At least that and it would have to be enough.

"My father?" Hinata asked at last, her voice trembling only a little.

"Poisoned, as you instructed, but I can't be sure if he ate the food. Either way, this won't turn into a siege. We poisoned the rest of the food too." Kagura sighed, biting her lip unhappily.

"I know its treason to ask such a thing of you," Hinata began gently, "I take full responsibility."

"Father's left us no choice though!" Hanabi hissed, rubbing angrily at her eyes.

"You've done very well and now at least we have something to hold against Father and to offer Naruto as a part of our surrender." Hinata said, pulling the Kagura's hood more tightly around her face.

"Shall we leave through the west gate then, milady?" Kagura asked timidly, wringing her hands.

"No, you will leave through the west gate and head towards the house with the red lanterns. It's snowy, it might be hard to see, but just keep the forest at your back and you won't be lost. Make sure everyone has boots instead of sandals…" Hinata instructed.

"And…where will you be?" Kagura asked, her tone a hint mutinous.

"I am going through the south gate."

"But Sissy! That takes us right through the main parade grounds where all the soldiers are in formation and then we'll have to double back around to get to Kiba's house!" Hanabi argued.

"We aren't leaving until everyone who wants to go with us can." Hinata said stubbornly.

"But Sister…!" Hanabi argued.

"No more hiding, Hanabi. The Inuzuka support us and we must move forward for the sake of everyone. There is nothing Father can do to stop us." Hinata snarled.

"Milady…What about the curse-mark? What if they harm you?" Kagura whispered, her voice high and frightened.

"You will just have to go on without me, but that won't happen." Hinata said softly, squeezing the woman's roughened, chilly hands.

"We are very afraid of the mark, Hinata-sama…" Someone whispered from behind.

"I know, but Father can't use it on everyone, only one person at a time. I can reverse it almost as quickly as he can activate it. The men out there are just going to have to decide if they want to take the chance against it, or live as slaves forever. Hanabi, you should go with Kagura and help the women find the way…"

"Fuck that!" Hanabi hissed, pouting.

"They need you now." Hinata sighed.

"You need me more!"

"This…is going to be very difficult." Hinata said.

Hanabi crossed her arms stubbornly and spread her feet defiantly, posture firm despite the moisture still glistening on her cheeks. Hinata sighed. She nodded to Kagura, gesturing towards the west gate, and then turned on her heel towards the unmistakable sound of troops being rallied for combat without another glance. People would follow her orders or they would not, she was not in the habit of gaining obedience through brute force, and Kagura was more than capable of walking the few blocks to the Inuzuka compound on the other side of Konoha. Regardless, she had other matters to attend to. A reckoning was upon them and the decisions made within the next few hours would decide not only her own future, but the survival of her entire clan. Now was not the time for indecisiveness and even if she was forced to put the coup into action far sooner than initially intended, Hinata's intentions remained the same. Her people would be alive and they would be free or she would die trying. The idea that one's clansmen could be free to learn and grow as they saw fit was fairly elementary as far as the rest of the world was considered, but it was all she could offer.

Hanabi followed in her footsteps, moving silently and with the same tactical determination that Neji always adopted in the field, a kind of elegant prowl that preceded the kill. She and her sister were really nothing at all alike. Hanabi was a warrior through and through, the epitome of ninja ideals, as proud and ruthless as a wolf with the unnerving tendency towards cruelty instead of gentleness if the situation turned against her liking. Hinata was the opposite, preferring to watch and wait instead of fighting over every insult, slow to anger and even slower to forgive, everything their father despised. On some level, she'd always half expected Hanabi to betray her, to choose the easy violence and quick satisfaction of their father's methods instead of her patient traps. She smiled. Though she was more patient, the elder Hyuuga daughter was not as weak as Hiashi or even Neji believed, and her traps were just as dangerous as a thousand of her sister's blows.

"What will you say to them? To Father?" Hanabi asked, her voice carefully emotionless.

"What must be said. Nothing more." Hinata replied.

The frosty gardens with their perfectly manicured miniature pine trees and frozen fountains slowly opened and through the lens of the Byukugan Hinata could see her assembled kinsmen standing in ranks arrayed in a star pattern. So, Hiashi meant to simply grind Naruto's assault down with bodies, exhaust him at the cost of lives. She scowled. The strategy was a good one, ideal against an enemy attacking fortified gates, but like everything else her father's mad pride drove him to do, the cost of life would be enormous. There were no lamps lit, but the sound of hundreds of cold, nervous, shuffling feet was more than enough to guide her. She moved forward unflinchingly, stepping out into the snowy courtyard as if the men in her path weren't there at all, forcing the troops to part lines as she passed. Hanabi followed her, silent for once, as she moved toward the center of the formation. Finally, she stood a few steps from the raised platform in the center of the formation, the very head of the beast.

"Hinata, what a surprise. What are you doing here?" Hiashi asked softly as she approached, tone empty.

He realized that her very presence undermined his authority, Hinata thought, and if fewer people hadn't already died for his designs, she might have even enjoyed the small victory. As it was, she moved forward grimly, clutching a poison dipped kunai to the inside of her wrist. Hiashi turned towards her, expression annoyed, but perfectly composed. Even now, he was so very sure that nothing would dare stand in his way. She truly wished things could be different, but they were not and the time for polite intrigue passed the moment her father decided to attack a jinchuuriki. Hinata paused and pulled back her hood so that everyone present could see her face, allowing the soft murmur of surprise to settle before she spoke.

"You have lost the right to lead our people. Surrender now and perhaps your life can be spared." Hinata said.

"Has pregnancy driven you insane, my daughter?" Hiashi laughed, eyes narrowing dangerously.

"It's you who has gone mad, father. You throw our kinsmen away in a struggle you cannot hope to win, all for the sake of pride and status our people see no benefit from. I cannot allow it to continue." Hinata continued, refusing to be intimidated.

"You have no say in the matter!" Hiashi hissed.

"I am leaving father and you cannot stop me." She said before turning to the assembled soldiers, "Anyone who values their lives and that of their families may come with me. You do not have to follow a leader you no longer trust, you don't have to die for nothing! The choice is yours!"

"Silence! This is treason!" He shouted.

"Come with us! You've already seen what fighting Naruto brings us!" Hinata went on.

"I said SILENCE or I will HAVE you silenced!" Hiashi snarled.

"I am not afraid of you father," Hinata hissed, meeting his eyes, "And I owe you nothing. You've lost thr right to call me daughter."

"You little IDIOT! I should have gotten rid of you long ago!" Hiashi railed, "I don't NEED you! Hanabi is ten times the heir you were! You're too weak Hinata, too weak to act against me! You've always been WEAK!"

"No father. You are weak, too weak to see past your own pride. I pity you." Hinata replied, almost sadly.

"How DARE you!"

"The poison should begin working any moment now, father. The food stores are spoiled and the explosives ruined as well, this is a battle you have no chance to win, but you are my father and so I will offer you one last chance. There is an antidote and I would be happy to give it to you if you will just surrender…" Hinata offered, hope flickering briefly in her chest.

"NEVER!"

"Fine, but this is what you chose." She said sadly, shaking her head.

"A Hyuuga will NOT surrender! Not to you and not to that monster either!" Hiashi railed.

"As you wish. Die with whatever honor you have left." Hinata said mildly, before turning again to the troops, "Come with us and fight to live, or stay and die. Choose now."

She did not wait for an answer, turning back the way she'd come, walking with firm purposeful steps. The troops stirred, muttering amongst one another, the sound of steel gloves against steel weapons like the buzzing of an army of mechanized bees, nervous and dangerous too. Hinata refused to turn around, but she knew immediately that Hanabi was not following her. The emptiness where her sisters footsteps should be hurt, but Hinata refused to turn back. Perhaps in the end her efforts finally had come to this, one last betrayal, karma for her own desperate attempt to restore peace. She closed her eyes. Death came for everyone eventually and if she had to die by anyone's knife, she'd rather it be her sister's than a stranger on some distant battlefield or Hiashi's assassin when he finally tired of her insolence. Hinata had already chosen to live as she chose or die.

"Hanabi! Kill her! Kill the TRAITOR!" Hiashi ordered, stamping the butt of his naginata into the boards of the platform.

Hinata watched the soldiers flinch at the sound, but one by one, several of the men began melting out of the formation, moving cautiously. The left, alternating sides so that Hiashi could only see their shadows as they moved. She sighed, whether she died or not at least a few more lives had been saved.

"Sissy isn't weak," Hanabi snarled, "She's kind and strong and honorable! She loved you…"

"GO, dammit! Finish her! She's a TRAITOR, Hanabi! You should have always been the heir anyway, and now you will have the status you deserve…"

"Goodbye father. I hope Naruto kills you quickly." Hanabi said and turned to follow her sister into the snowy night.

OoOoOoO

The main gate was lightly guarded, just as Sasuke had anticipated, with only a handful of common soldiers fearfully clutching spears outside the heavy, ironwood doors to the Hyuuga compound. Hiashi never imagined that the vanguard of their assault would come from the center of Konoha, in the middle of the street where any curious citizen could see. The old bastard was too accustomed to conducting his wars in secret, Sasuke said, and probably assumed that they would want to do the same. Naruto grinned. If what Sasuke said was true, Hiashi couldn't be more wrong. Naruto wanted what was about to take place to be public, he wanted to grind the Hyuuga out of existence before Konoha and anyone else who might be watching so that an example could be made. He was tired of secrets.

Either way, attacking from the street entrance to the compound served their purposes and presented a tactical advantage as well, one compounded by the dense tree cover in that particular part of town. Sasuke was watching the guards as well, counting their numbers and memorizing their patrol patterns, learning in an instant was took most people days of reconnaissance to ascertain. His subordinate understood war and, even better, he understood how someone in Hiashi's position might think, an advantage Naruto intended to use. When he was finished with the Hyuuga clan, when he'd ground the murderers into the soil like the rotten worms they were, no one would ever dare threaten his family again.

Deep in his thoughts, Kyuubi rumbled its agreement. The demon advocated total destruction of the enemy, especially when the enemy was human and, thus, an unpredictable force against its own loved ones. The situation was too close to the ones the Fox had faced before, times in the darkened past when humans ravaged the forest and killed young, atrocities committed before the Age of the Fire that still resonated through Naruto's bones. Before, the kitsune's motivations had been a mystery to him, but now he understood. The creature merely wanted to survive, to live in harmony with the natural forces of the world, and it attacked the humans encroaching into its territory as it would any other invader. Kyuubi loved, deeper than he could, and suffered more thoroughly than his own human mind could accept, but the sentiment was the same. He and the demon were in accord and even if the emotion was too vast, the years too long, Naruto understood the Fox's needs. They would protect their home and family, all other considerations were minutiae.

"Humans are evil…I have seen it." The Fox whispered sadly.

"I believe it. They cannot be trusted." Naruto agreed in his thoughts.

"They kill everything. Your mother, she tried to show them…" Kyuubi hissed, voice rough with emotion.

"I have no such intentions." Naruto replied silently.

"The forest is soaked with blood…" Kyuubi said.

"And thirsty for more." Naruto finished.

War was inevitable, an inescapable truth of humanity, and peace was merely an illusion fostered by time and complacency. Naruto understood Kyuubi's perspective now and he felt the pain of the Fox's many tragedies as he felt his own, the hurt deep and nagging, like a landslide into the flow of eternity. He heard the voices of dying kits and wailing mates from across oceans of time, undimmed by the centuries and un-soothed by the quiet of the present. The Fox knew what was at stake and Naruto would be damned if he allowed another massacre in his own lifetime.

"We attack before sunrise." The jinchuuriki snarled, burning eyes locked on the Hyuuga stronghold.

"Agreed. The darkness lends us the advantage, it forces them to exhaust Byukugan faster." Sasuke replied softly, loosening the long knife at his hip in its sheath.

"We can advance first with a diversive maneuver and then push on past the frontlines to Hiashi, avoiding his vanguard." Naruto suggested.

"Possible, but there could be collateral damage." Sasuke whispered.

"The Hokage has been notified of our intentions. Any who remain here do so at their own risk." Naruto said.

"Fine. How do you want to handle prisoners?" Sasuke asked softly, Sharingan eyes moving with inhuman speed as he looked past the physical barrier of the gates and within.

Naruto bit his tongue, choosing to breathe and watch for a moment instead of replying right away. Teme had a point, he usually did, but that was not something the jinchuuriki wanted to think about until the problem presented itself. He'd issued warnings and anyone with any sense would have already left the compound hours ago, but he couldn't shake the feeling the memory of what Neji had said before, that the commoners didn't have the freedom to escape. For all he knew, they were being threatened into action with the curse-mark, unable to save themselves. The knowledge grated against him, but the only tactical solution was to precede regardless of the cost. The Hyuuga condemned themselves the moment Sai died and politics had nothing to do with it. The threat had to be neutralized and that was the only focus of the mission.

"What do you see?" Naruto asked finally, neatly avoiding the question.

"Battalion rows have been organized in a star pattern, likely with the officers towards the centers giving commands via chakra flairs instead of aloud. There's something else happening, some kind of movement to the west side, maybe troop rotations. Looks too chaotic for that though, and there's a central figure disrupting the rest of the lines." Sasuke reported.

"Do you recognize the chakra signature of the central one?" Naruto asked, impressed as always by Sasuke's abilities.

"Not from this distance, but it doesn't look like the curse-mark it being used so it probably isn't Hiashi."

"Anything we can use to our advantage?" Naruto asked.

"Whatever is happening might provide us a distraction, but we might also be walking into a trap, though I doubt that's the case. It doesn't look like an ambush and there's only one reason to use of formation like that. Hiashi is planning to fight this defensively and throw bodies at us until we fatigue, which we will. There's just too many people in there and fighting among the buildings is going to slow us down." He sighed.

"Then we burn the buildings." Naruto hissed.

"There are people in there, dobe. Non-combatants probably." Sasuke whispered.

"Everyone in there is a combatant."

"Naruto, how do you want to handle prisoners?" Sasuke asked again, more firmly this time.

"We take no prisoners." Naruto replied softly, pulling his mask up over his nose to disguise the smoky plume of his exhalation.

"Naruto, that isn't going to work. There are probably children…"

"We can't afford to lose momentum and trying to move people in and out of combat is going to be impossible behind those walls. They're already planning to use the urban setting against us, which means Hiashi doesn't care if people get hurt." Naruto shrugged.

"We can request refugee support measures from Tsunade…"

"Warnings were given, Sasuke. Anyone in there is an enemy. No prisoners." The jinchuuriki snarled.

"Care to make that order with the thrall?" Sasuke hissed.

"Do I have to?" Naruto spat.

"No, but you will definitely regret this." Sasuke sighed, a surge of pain and despair rising off of him into Naruto's awareness.

"That's my burden to bear, baby. All you have to do is what you do best." Naruto said darkly.

"Hai." Sasuke replied, "And don't call me baby."

They moved together without another word, intention synchronized into action, darting towards the Hyuuga stronghold like a pair of black specters against the glittering whiteness of the newly fallen snow. The soft surface of the ground barely whispered against their feet and what little footprint remained was quickly lost as the snow continued to fall in steady, flowing flurries, muffling even the soft noise of their breathing. The air was cold, but Naruto's body burned as the battle-rage surged through him again, lighting his blood like a burning candle dropped into accelerant. His teeth lengthened, aching in his jaw, the razor edges sharp against his tongue as the fury grew and consumed any doubt he had harbored before. The empty place where Sai's spirit once rested stung within him like a hornet' barb, the pain as real as an arrow in his heart and twice as deep. Soon Hiashi would suffer as well and then he would die.

They paused at the gate, the guards shuffling in surprise as they melted out of the shadowy edges of the trees, stark for a single terrible moment against the snow. A moment would be more than enough time. Sasuke pulled his sword free of its scabbard and settled the knife into his other hand, lowering his posture like a snake readying itself to strike, his breath pluming like smoke into the air. Dressed all in black with his eyes swirling crimson, Sasuke looked almost the way he had at the Valley of the End so many years ago: like death incarnate. The unholy terror of the world, his childhood beloved, Orochimaru's best and most formidable student; Sasuke was the kind of ninja born once in a generation and Naruto knew that unleashing him against an enemy would be like dropping an explosive. In battle, Sasuke was ruthless, pure unhinged aggression, and he would destroy everything in their path, even himself if Naruto wasn't careful. Still, hesitation gained them nothing.

With a deep breath and a shudder of chakra crackling to life, Naruto generated hundreds of shadow clones, an army of perfectly created kage no bunshin forced into existence by the powers of energy and will. The clones were all the same, copies of himself, but they were made with a very delicate chakra manipulation that forced the energy from any kage no bunshin that fell back into those remaining. As the clones expired, the ones left actually grew stronger and more stable. Sasuke exhaled noisily and struggled a moment longer before conjuring a smaller army of his own, three of whom appeared as the Seal's fully activated manifestation complete with the hellish wings that still haunted Naruto's dreams. The clones moved to an unspoken command, scattering like raindrops, some scaling the walls and others falling back to engage the other entrances to the compound.

The guards on the top of the gate shrieked in surprise, leaping to engage the clones trying to climb up over their parapets instead of attempting to raise a warning for the rest of the compound, just as Naruto had hoped. Sasuke's winged clones leapt into the air, the sound of their flight thunderous as they raised a cloud of snow to further obscure the maneuver from enemy eyes. Naruto crossed his arms, the anger burning like poison in his veins, chased by chilly hate. The feeling made his teeth chatter and his belly clench, the anger almost enough to bring tears back to his eyes, but there was no time for emotion now. The time for grief was over. Naruto turned away from the surging tide of his feelings, shutting them away, and suddenly there was only calm emptiness, predator and prey, friend and foe. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Naruto cracked his neck and glared towards the towering barrier to the Hyuuga main gate with unmasked spite.

"Burn it." He ordered and Sasuke moaned softly with the thrall even as he filled his lungs to obey.

Naruto watched as his subordinate pulled the air deep, his belly distending with it as the fire gathered and concentrated within, smoke issuing from his lips. Naruto could see the fire glowing beneath Sasuke's skin, illuminating his ribs in hellish orange light even through the armor. The power of the raven's natural talent with the element was tangible in the easy way he gathered the blaze and Naruto knew before another heartbeat passed that in the years of peace, Sasuke's abilities had only grown stronger. The heat rising from his lover was palpable and the snow popped and evaporated as it fell against him. The guards on the gate managed a single scream and then Sasuke spat the flames, an infernal blue with concentrated heat, engulfing the entire barrier in a searing wall of fire. The air shimmered and the snow sizzled away into nothingness as the only obstacle between the Hyuuga household and Naruto's wrath crumbled away in the inferno into feeble, blackened charcoal.

OoOoOoO

Long ago, a child lived with his Mother in the forest. The forest was large and rich and the child had plenty of good things to eat and clean water to drink. Mother was large and magnificent, her black fur strikingly decorated with swirling blue markings a so bright that even the frog spirits with their brilliant hides sighed in envy. She had a pair of lovely, spiral horns and a slender muzzle filled with pearly, white fangs she closed gently around him when they traveled. They traveled often, never staying in one place too long, but always staying in the forest. The child played with beetles and hunted mice and occasionally the slippery fish which swam in the stream. The other demons of the forest hated him, and spat at his tail when he passed, but Mother would growl and the lesser demons bowed to her out of terror. The only demon which did not bow was the mighty bear demon, but the Bear was wise in many things, and though he ignored the child he did not spit at or slap him.

The child didn't care how the other demons despised him, he had Mother. Her fur was warm, soft and comfortable against his cheek, her heartbeat a comfortable thrum in his awareness. Mother drew toys for him to play with, guiding his clumsy fingers gently with her claws until he could manipulate the ink as well, creating prancing horses and laughing faces to decorate the plain wall of the den. There were no other children to play with, Mother always kept him tucked away during the day, but the paintings could move and speak and it was almost the same. When he was big enough, Mother said, they would fly away somewhere safe where he could play in the sunshine without fear. For now, the den was all the world that the child knew and Mother the only companion he had. The outside was very dangerous and the child was only allowed outside to pick flowers and chase raccoons by starlight, even the moon too bright to take any chances. He knew about sunlight, because Mother told him stories, their tails wound together cozily as she spoke. She smelled of pungent ink and old paper, a rich musty smell and her words came to life in the ink even as she said them.

The sun, she said, was bright and hot. She said it was light like the fire, but brighter, and that in the sun flowers opened instead of staying closed and that shops with paper and other goods opened too. She said the forest spirits loved the sun and the fire oni worshipped its heat, but that the bright light was also loved by dangerous creatures that would kill him if they could. The child knew that he had to stay hidden at all costs. Mother was not afraid of the creatures and she often changed shape to go out and hunt or to get candy and more paper for painting. Mother loved paper and she would even risk going into town, the nest of the frightening creatures, to get it. The child often begged to go with her, to see the sun and to eat sweets out in the world at her side, but such things were not allowed. He could go, she said, when he could change.

Mother never said why, but the child knew that the rule existed was because he could not morph wings to fly away or big claws to defend himself; he couldn't change the way Mother did. The things that hunted out in the sun would kill him in a moment, Mother said, and he was the only baby she had. He tried, tried hard to morph, but his body never changed. His blue claws were always blue, no matter what he did, and his tail never grew thorns. His father, Mother said, was not a demon that could change the way she could and so the child was trapped in one form by his blood. He cried, because being locked in only one form was terrible and because he didn't want to be different, but Mother never seemed to mind. She loved him, cradling him in her wings or carrying him in her mouth, the child always knew Mother would keep him safe. She said that she would carry him even if he never managed to morph wings.

The child knew that rabbits only had babies when there were two rabbits together in spring, but Mother was the only person he had ever met, there were no others. When he asked, Mother became very quiet and said that there had been another person, but that he was dead now, which was fine because he was very cruel. The other person, she said, had hurt her and that he, her child, was the only good think the man had ever done. Mother said that the child could grow to be many things, but never cruel and he tried, because he loved her.

Cruelty, Mother said, is the mink that ate its own young instead of going hungry in the snows and the child thought he understood, but he was wrong. The mink was just trying to survive the best way it could, living to make more young instead of dying slowly of starvation in the vain hope of saving the ones it had. Real, true cruelty came later. Cruelty came with loud voices and torches, lighting up the forest so much that the stars lost their shimmer and he had to squint just to see. The men came from all directions, blocking both the road and the river, and when Mother changed form and tried to speak to them they slapped her down. The child snarled and rushed to her, fur raised in his tail and claws extended, but the evil ones just laughed and hit him too.

Mother tried to fly and she almost got away, but the child's clumsy human fingers couldn't hold onto her fur as she changed and tore her way out of the clinging ropes. The child fell and he had no wings. He cried and Mother dove to save him, reaching her talons out, grabbing his body just in time. The evil ones threw spears to stab her, and Mother cried in pain, but did not let him go. Her blood was hot on his face, sticky in his tail, and the child cried because he was terrified and mother was hurting. They fell out of the sky, tumbling, Mother turning to strike the ground with her body instead of his and then the men fell upon them again. They dragged Mother, choked her, forced her into a cage.

The child clung to her, too still and coated with gore for the men to notice, but the cage was too small. Mother begged, she said that it was too small, she promised to be still if they would only let them out. Mother couldn't move, couldn't move enough to breath and slowly, slowly she gasped and gasped and her wounds bled. When she breathed, the cage pressed too much, hurting, and she was too weak to change into her smaller form. The sound was horrible, but Mother wrapped her claws around his eyes so that the child couldn't see even as he clung to her trembling fur.

"Change…" She said, her breath wet and crackling.

"I can't!" The child cried.

"Change!" She begged.

The child cried in panic, but he nodded and tried. He tried as he'd never tried before, willing the tail away and his markings faded, pulling the tiny horns back into his skull with all his might. Mother wheezed, moaning in agony and the child thought that is he could just change, if he could make himself look like the evils ones, perhaps she would be allowed to breathe again. He tried, he tried so hard his nose bled and his eyes hurt. Mother wheezed, her heart stuttering, the blood gushing against him in terrifying waves. He gasped and tried and, bit by bit, his body morphed, forced into an unnatural shape. The change hurt, hurt down to the marrow of his bones, but the child pushed harder. He willed everything away, everything that did not look or smell like the evil men crushing his beloved Mother to death, even though the effort made him scream. Soon his shape was different and his eyes too, no more blue or claws or tail, but it was too late. When the child stopped screaming, Mother was already gone.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle to annihilate the Hyuuga threat is underway, but Hiashi isn't finished by far and as the killing continues both sides reach their breaking point.

The jinchuuriki is a dichotomous creature by its very nature, as both human and demon personalities must exist side by side, simultaneously expressed, instead of in a mixed state of compromise as one would recognize in a hanyou. The strengths of the demon vessels are profound, but what many scholars fail to recognize is that their weaknesses are equally pervasive and that the creature is, in many ways, quite fragile. Just as the jinchuuriki shares energy among its mates, so too does it borrow energy from them; a delicate state of homeostasis susceptible to any perturbation of either individual's chakra. Thankfully for the creature, subordinates are astoundingly tough and most direct assaults against their energetic anatomy usually fail. This is not, however, to say that in an inborn vulnerability cannot be exploited. Though rare, there are some recorded cases of jinchuuriki mated to an individual with a pre-existing chakra abnormality that were sickened or even maimed by it in place of their subordinate. From this, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that the unnatural chakra sharing between an elemental demon vessel and its mates is a bidirectional pathway that can be modulated, but not halted.

-Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons

Hiashi watched the miserable cowards slip away, always the moment his back was turned, hiding like the ungrateful little children they were and running off into the night to follow his wayward, traitorous daughter. The Hyuuga leader grit his teeth, the sharp hurt of their betrayal almost choking the air away from his lungs, suffocating him. Even Hanabi, the fiercer and far more pragmatic of his offspring, chose to follow her sister on the path of cowardice and for what? Some bizarre and clearly misplaced sibling loyalty? Love between sisters who should, by all logic, hate each other? He did not understand. Hanabi and Hinata were rivals, just as he and Neji's father had once been, set at odds from birth for the sake of producing the strongest patriarch. Hiashi always anticipated that the two girls would try to kill each other one day since they couldn't be married, as would have been the case if one were a male heir. A match between them was expected and even encouraged in order to establish the next generation of clan leadership. Instead his daughters collaborated against him, the pathetic little bitches, joining forces on the eve of what would be the clan's most difficult battle since antiquity to seed dissention in his troops.

Desertion was inexcusable, but that they even had the gall to leave in the first place was more than shocking, something he'd never even considered as a possibility. He scowled. The clan had somehow become weak, easily misled, a situation he would remedy immediately. With a hiss, Hiashi turned back to his rapidly thinning troops and quickly performed the gesture for the curse mark at the first soldier he noticed twitch. With an agonized shriek, the man crumpled into the snow with a heavy thud of flesh and armor hitting stone, holding his forehead in both hands as if he could pull the mark off his face by force.

"To those who think to betray us, who would betray our clan, THIS is your fate!" Hiashi snarled and a wave of shocked muttering spread through the assembled ranks.

The soldier, Hiashi wasn't even entirely sure who it was, writhed like an eel in the snow and screamed over and over again until his voice was raw. He let the torture go on, watching the spectacle with frigid indifference. Many years had passed since the Hyuuga royal house used the curse-mark for anything more than a cursory reprimand, a brief reminder of a servant's place usually more than sufficient to command obedience, but an example needed to be made. Hiashi let the mark burn, let the man keep screaming, pleased by the sounds of shock and terror echoing through his troops. Desertion was a crime and the same fate awaited any one of them foolish enough to try. Perhaps he'd been too lenient. The younger branch house members might not even know what happened to a person in whom the curse mark was activated and simply left that way, but the time had come to remind them, old and young alike.

"My Lord! He's my brother! Please!" A veteran in the far left ranks cried, falling to his knees.

"Desertion is a serious offense. The same fate waits for all the others, my foolish daughters included. Watch carefully before you decide you want to think for yourselves." Hiashi said coldly.

"No! Please!"

"Watch." Hiashi hissed.

The wailing was already beginning to sound more like the cries of an animal, frenzied and endless, squealing with raw agony. Someone in the front vanguard feinted with a soft thump onto the ground, lost among the rows of startled faces. The cursed man's hands stiffened, turned inward like a raptor's claws in rigor mortis, the first indication that his brain was beginning to suffer irreversible damage. His eyes rolled back in his head and he jerked, seizing in earnest against the unforgiving parade ground stones, body beating rhythmically like a dove caught in an electric snare. He bit through his tongue, gagging on the blood, gore spraying through the snow and his brother several lines back shrieked in helpless horror. Hiashi crossed his arms. Soon, he knew, the seizure would stop and then the little traitor would do what all of them did in the end. He hoped the gruesome spectacle would be enough to compel loyalty in the others, a pity such barbarism was necessary, but sometimes ugly things had to be done.

"Stop! Stop! He'll die!" Someone cried, one of the younger soldiers.

"I will not stop. The punishment for betrayal is absolute," Hiashi snarled, "So learn the lesson well."

The man on the ground finally stopped shaking, wheezing noisily as he gasped for enough air to scream again, his body a sweaty, panting wreck, but the pain never stopped. The curse-mark couldn't be stopped , not unless Hiashi chose to stop it, so the agony would only continue, never waning, until the ultimate conclusion of the curse. Barely conscious, teeth chattering eerily in the otherwise oppressive silence, the Hyuuga soldier raised himself up onto quivering arms. Hiashi knew what would come next, he'd seen it once before, but the Hyuuga leader refused to stop the mark. He could not compromise, not now.

"Oh Kami! No! Nooo!" His brother wailed, trying to push through the crowd, but it was already too late.

With another broken shriek, the nameless, unlucky, Hyuuga common soldier surged forward to smash his own forehead savagely against the icy stones. Blood sprayed from the wound in a steaming spurt, and he collapsed for a moment from the force of the blow, but Hiashi knew he wasn't done yet. Someone screamed from the assembled ranks as, weaving like a drunkard, the man raised himself up only to dash his own gushing skull against the ground again. Hiashi watched, refusing to close his eyes, as the man did it again and again, breaking his own desperate head open like a ripe melon against the rock rather than endure the agony of the curse-mark. The sick squelching of fractured bone and ruptured flesh was the only sound after a while, the awful wailing silenced in place of it. He beat himself to death, right there before the eyes of every Hyuuga warrior still assembled, gasping one last rattling breath just as bright flames erupted to the east.

Hiashi turned just in time to catch the full roar of the explosion in his left ear as billowing flames surged up in brilliant, orange waves from the main gate entrance, the heat palpable even several yards away as Naruto's initial assault began in earnest. Hiashi cursed, the main gate into Konoha was the entrance most lightly defended. People were already streaming toward the center of the compound, trying to beat out the clinging flames on their clothes as they ran, and the sound of steel meeting steel rang out through the night. Hiashi neatly stepped over the oozing corpse and into the midst of his forces, trying to gain a better vantage point for the molten destruction hurtling towards the center of the formation. Naruto had chosen to fight him head to head through the main gate, in full view of the Konoha public, just like the fucking barbarian he was!

Ear still ringing with the swan song of his own, dying hearing ability, Hiashi turned to his troops, gesturing tersely for the formation to move and reform into a tighter position. Bodies churned, moving softly through the snow, as more soldiers from the main entrance fell back to join the central offensive structure, trying awkwardly to integrate in the already shifting formation. Hiashi barked orders to his commanders and the night was suddenly alight with chakra pulses carrying his commands to the rest of the soldiers watching with the Byukugan. They were moving, but barely fast enough and he needed to direct the point of their defense towards Naruto's initial assault. The frightened soldiers shuffled, their training pulling feet and arms into a smooth front guard positions through muscles memory alone until a solid wedge of spears was formed up along the narrow alleyway leading to the main gate.

The jinchuuriki was powerful, but he was subject to the same laws of engagement as any other opponent and the narrow pathway through the houses, specifically designed to bottle-neck an invader in a siege, would slow him considerably. Already, Hiashi could see the clones, each a perfect replica of their master and masked with in the stylized red and white likenesses of foxes, surging over the tops of his buildings in a black wave of energy made matter. If Sasuke's clones were tough, he could only assume that Naruto's would be nearly as durable as true flesh, but now the Hyuuga forces were fighting on their own home territory, backed against the wall and fueled by the frenzy of desperation. The only piece left to ensure victory was probably still sitting in a semi-catatonic daze on the floor of his main reception chamber. The poor, unlucky mongrel still bleeding into the snow would not be the only person to die at his own hands tonight, which was doubly unfortunate. The Hyuuga clan leader swore in silence that he would make Naruto pay for forcing him to do such awful, savage things, but Hiashi would have victory, no matter the cost.

"Bring my nephew." He ordered, crossing his arms as the swirling inferno engulfed the gatehouse.

"He's sure to disobey you." Bunta warned, moving up to stand at Hiashi's right.

"That is to be expected, but I have ways of subduing him." Hiashi replied.

"My Lord, he's useless…" The commander closest to his elbow hedged.

"No weapon is useless until it's destroyed completely." Hiashi said softly, almost to himself.

OoOoOoO

Naruto's clones tittered amongst one another, filling the air with a strange sort of whispered racket that set Sasuke's teeth on edge, always saying a variation of the same thing and just different enough to be distracting. They climbed and tumbled everywhere, their movements too erratic for the stunned Hyuuga forces to anticipate, chittering like a horde of possessed locusts and consuming everything in their path. They were occupied with searching for Neji, whether Naruto willed their directive to be that way or not, constantly whispering about him as they tore the Hyuuga compound apart. Sasuke watched, readying his own forces to move once Naruto's vanguard carved a path. Overhead, his winged clones circled, occasionally screaming with his own unsaid eagerness and bloodlust. Sasuke reveled in the destruction, enjoying the crackling of burning buildings and ringing of steel in combat far more than he knew he should. Even locked safely away by the thrall, the Seal was not dead, and it stirred sickeningly within him with every movement of his specialized clones, seeking blood. The despair he felt before, the awful realization that Naruto would be willing to ruthlessly slaughter any warm body in his way was mercifully quieted now. Despair, hope, almost everything was incinerated in the heady rush of adrenaline and the pounding rage of battle and perhaps his alpha had intended it that way from the beginning.

Naruto was far more thoughtful, more strategic, than anyone ever gave him credit for, which was probably why Sasuke was one of the very few people to fight the kitsune and win. The little gold devil had learned long ago to do things his own way, far too inured to doubt, criticism and ridicule to be bothered by something petty like protocol or tradition. Even now, Sasuke knew that the battle was progressing the way his alpha wanted even if it looked, to anyone not intimately knowledgeable about Naruto's state of mind, like utter disorder. The movement of their army was almost comical in its bouncing, rolling, weaving carnage, and the way the clones flung one another into the air was almost ridiculous, but the chaos of it was just a distraction. Sasuke knew better than anyone that this was his alpha's true strength; that what looked like play was, in fact, deadly serious and designed to antagonize a response. Hyuuga would probably fall directly into Naruto's claws like everyone else, underestimating his will, or intelligence or focus just as the blonde intended.

Everything about the jinchuuriki's nature was like this, a rampant maelstrom of conflicting movement hiding a unified intention, and perhaps it was simply a strange hint at what lay within. In the swirling tempest of Naruto's wind and Kyuubi's fire, his alpha lived in a state of energetic dichotomy, his very nature composed of completely separate facets. Sasuke could hardly imagine what internal, instinctual mastery over two elements must feel like, but if Naruto's power was anything similar to what it felt like through the thrall, it was half a miracle the vessel hadn't gone completely insane long ago. Naruto lived in a state of chakra pandemonium the way most people lived in the quiet singularity of their own mind, so it was no surprise that his approach to battle had a tendency towards the absurd.

Absurd or not, their tactics were working, and the Hyuuga forces were falling back in droves, unable to hold a solid line. A group of clones swarmed over the rooftops of the nearest buildings, tearing the very shingles from the structures as they went, revealing the vulnerable wood beneath in readiness for his fire. The Hyuuga soldiers were merely torn to pieces. The masked clones descended on the compound in a wave of white and red faces, each wearing an identical vulpine grin, all the while whispering to each other and to no one.

"Find Neji." They said, the sentiment echoed in a thousand different ways.

"Neji, the traitor, drag him back, drag him back."

"Find Neji! Save him!"

"Save Neji, bring him home…"

"Neji killed Sai…"

"Neji is lost, find him, find him…"

"Neji saved us…"

"Find him…find Neji…"

The eerie echoes of the conflict in his inner thoughts aside, Naruto showed no hesitation in his mastery of the army and the clones tore through both people and buildings like weak rice paper, finding the swiftest path through the compound like a river made of running bodies and pure destruction. Sasuke's clones gnashed their teeth, even the normal, human shaped ones, but the time was not yet ready to release them into the battle. For sheer meat-grinder might, Naruto was stronger, and the longer Sasuke engaged in pitched battle the more of a foothold the Seal would have in him, which put their entire strategy at risk and might eliminate the possibility of reclaiming Neji as well. He sighed. Sakura wanted the Hyuuga back and so did he. The absence of the other man on the field felt hollow somehow, like suddenly being deprived of one's shadow. Sasuke wanted Neji with them, at his side, hands clasped in his own and, even if he denied the sentiment, Naruto clearly felt the same way.

Neji belonged to them, with them, and if he truly was a traitor, Sasuke would simply beat him into submission, tear him apart piece by ragged piece and put him back together until the genius understood that there was no loyalty except to them. The bonds of duty were weak against love and the chains of obligation even more so. Soon Neji would see the truth of his existence; that being loved by Naruto freed him from all other bindings and that it was the kind of love no one could escape from for the sake of petty things like filial clan guilt. Sasuke closed his eyes, taking a breath, trying for another measure of patience and control. Soon, soon he would be upon the field as well, but not yet. Naruto was the club of their attack and he was the blade, better suited for a single target instead of mass amounts of wanton destruction. Sasuke agreed with the plan, it was his plan, but the waiting was grating on him more than the raven wanted to acknowledge.

Though silent, his army was far more agitated, moving about in milling circles, scraping blades against their hands in hungry readiness for the bloodshed yet to come. Every crunch of burning wood and agonized scream set Sasuke's nerves on edge, bringing the tingle of half-mad laughter to his lips. Time was precious and for all he knew, Neji might already be dead. If he was, any hope of reclaiming Naruto's sanity was probably dead along with him and Konoha would be ruled by a pitiless warlord instead of the sunny, benevolent titan he'd married. Either way, Sasuke supposed that those who deserved to be punished would be. The only one he hurt for was Naruto and the hurt was merely an echo now, a whisper in the typhoon of the building eagerness for death already sizzling in his blood.

He would find Neji or he would find his corpse, either way, the Hyuuga would be reclaimed in whatever way the gods allowed. If he was alive, Sasuke would make sure that he never wandered again. The raven was not afraid to inflict pain, pain was a tool he understood well, and sometimes a man needed to be shattered before he could be healed. Sasuke would shatter Neji if it meant having him back in his arms, he'd break him a hundred thousand times over and pound the truth of it into his flesh so that he, too, could be a prisoner of love. The gilded cage Naruto had built for him was the only salvation the once-Uchiha had ever known and the peculiarity of being saved was that Sasuke firmly believed that another person could be as well. Neji deserved to be saved as much as any of them did.

The battle was slowly climbing to a steady thrum of violence as Naruto's clones bashed like a hammer through the meager organized shield walls and into the first formal courtyards. There were traps everywhere, the deafening explosions sending bodies flying and not all of them were made of chakra and willpower either. The Hyuuga suffered in their own arcade as much as they'd suffered in his, but that was how Hiashi fought. The old tiger had bodies to spare, so of course he laid traps even beneath the feet of his own troops, the ass. Sasuke sincerely hoped that Naruto would allow him to be the one to kill Hiashi. If he did, Sasuke would destroy him slowly and make it the kind of death only Orochimaru could have matched for pain and humiliation, the kind that made a person's soul hurt into the afterlife and beyond. He smiled and the expression was not one Sakura would have liked.

Sending a thought and a brief gesture to his clones above, Sasuke generated wind, using the air to clear the field of smoke, debris and other poisonous hazes so that he could track Naruto's progress and prepare for his own initial assault. Not surprisingly, Naruto's clones had been heavily culled. The purpose of kage no bunshin was originally to spring traps before a ninja ever set foot onto a course and they performed the task beautifully, spreading like waves through the Hyuuga streets and triggering every device they could find. Snares, blades, poison mist, bombs, pits and darts pinged through the clones, striking only smoke or neatly dodged. The control Naruto had over them was astonishing, each clone mimicking his own reflexes as if each and every shadow was one of his own limbs instead of a conjured illusion.

Naruto himself was already swathed in a robe of swirling flame with two of his nine tails coiled almost luxuriantly about his shoulders, eyes blazing purple with both concentration and vehemence. Sasuke did not believe in god, but if he did, the being would probably pale in comparison to his alpha. For a bare instant, Naruto turned his violet gaze towards Sasuke in unspoken command, but the black haired murderer was already moving. The time had come and his clones were diving down out of the sky before Naruto even moved, the intention somehow ringing through the thrall the instant the jinchuuriki even thought to convey it. Sasuke laughed as he directed them into a swirling storm of death, fuel for the fire already kindling in his belly.

The flames grew, hot and deep inside his body where the chakra slowly solidified, becoming a concentrated force with enough power to incinerate anything except the careful chakra bubble caged around it. The key to fire manipulation was to be utterly fearless, to accept that the very element of one's weapon could turn in the next moment and destroy the wielder's body, and to revel in the danger instead of retreat. Fear was the farthest feeling from Sasuke's mind. He loved caging the blaze, the challenge of containing so much destructive force a bare whisper away from his own, vulnerable organs enough to chase away any other emotions. His clones shrieked from above as Sasuke lowered his mask almost leisurely, smoke curling from his smiling lips in slender tendrils as he chose a target.

Naruto's clones had prepared the path well and there was probably enough dry kindling to burn steadily for a week if the idea was to burn it slowly, but that, of course, was not what he had in mind. Hotter than magma, the inferno grew and Sasuke slowly added motion, creating a swirling vortex. He wanted the flames to have a concentrated direction, but also to spread. The fire within was testing the boundaries of his control, raising his body temperature, but Sasuke held it for a moment longer, pressing hard to achieve even greater density.

When he spat the flames, he could almost feel the savagery of Naruto's approving grin like a caress against his cheek, the jinchuuriki's anger matched, for once, to his own. The fire bloomed like a comet's tail, indigo like the hottest star at the center and trailing blistering red along the edges as it cooled. The monsters in the sky shrieked in rapture. The flames surged, blue with heat and spread like the wings of some mythical beast belched up from the very heart of a volcano, setting the snow clouds alight with scarlet vehemence and then settling to glow a more familiar orange. The buildings on either side of the fire-stream ignited from the heat alone, erupting like bombs on both sides of the narrow corridor, sending the closest squadron of Hyuuga soldiers leaping away in screaming panic. The shrapnel alone was more than enough to kill, but Sasuke contracted his belly and spat another volley into the ravaged compound, this one moving like a missile straight into the faces of Hiashi's vanguard formation.

Men and buildings burned, the air hot enough to feel even several yards from the true theater of battle. Naruto's clones tittered with maddened laughter, waiting anxiously for the molten carnage to cool enough for the next wave of the invasion, their eerie fox masks illuminated by the flames like true demons crouching amongst the corpses. Sasuke gestured, his control not yet instinctual enough to move the clones with thought alone, and the first squad of his foot soldiers rallied with Naruto's waiting forces to form a perfect Morningstar formation. They moved, sidestepping with inhuman unison just off center so that the entire movement began to spin, moving with the slow power of melted steel towards the shuffling Hyuuga troops. Sasuke scowled with concentration, the movement of the clones almost more than he could bear, but then Naruto was beside him and controlling dozens of immaterial soldiers in one of the most difficult maneuvers ever invented felt easy.

"Your master created the Morningstar." Sasuke said, watching as their chakra shadows began moving up and down in addition to sideways, hurling projectiles over the heads of their own comrades.

"Yes, though he did it with men. That's harder." Naruto said, twitching his tails.

"I'm glad you think so." Sasuke snarled testily, pinching the bridge of his nose as the synchrony of the movement became even more challenging as the clones not throwing darts materialized bladed 5 point shuriken.

"Just hold it a bit longer, it gets easier the faster it moves." Naruto said, just the barest hint of strain in his voice.

"Shut up! You're distracting me!" Sasuke snapped.

The shuriken spun so that the entire formation moved almost like an animal's mouth, a slowly rotating vortex of gnashing teeth moving up and down in rhythmic destruction. Master Jiraiya invented the Morningstar formation to decimate a more numerous opponent guided by a few skilled commanders, grinding away soldiers locked into rigid patterns, and the maneuver worked superbly. The Hyuuga common soldiers were too distracted by the spinning blades to anticipate the missiles and their main house commanders were sliced away from them with almost laughable ease. The pattern was both complex and muscular, requiring half the soldiers to squat to the ground while shifting to the right in unison while the other half leapt up to launch kunai and arrows. The battle in which master Jiraiya first used Morningstar allowed a company of twenty men to destroy an army of three hundred, but a significant portion of the ninja later died of sheer exhaustion. With clones, there was no such danger, but no one had ever managed enough control over kage no bunshin to attempt it before. The way they were doing this was new, something only a jinchuuriki, and one intimately knowledgeable about Jiraiya's work to boot, could ever manage.

Sasuke grumbled under his breath as the movement slowly became less cumbersome to coordinate, just as Naruto promised. The maneuver was something they could only accomplish together and the vastness of the destruction unleashed was almost more than even Sasuke had ever imagined. Naruto's skill with the bladed shuriken necessary for the maneuver was too amateur to maintain the seamless unity required to move the bladed teeth without lopping off the heads of his own clones and Sasuke could have never managed enough chakra to even try. Together however, together they had made something that neither of their masters could have imagined, a formation of such succinct cruelty and ruthless effectiveness that both men would have been impressed even if neither of them agreed on anything else. The steel teeth of the monster they'd created sawed through the still smoking remains of any buildings still standing between them and Hiashi's main force as well as all three Hyuuga squadrons ostensibly sent to stop them. The killing was almost too easy and the Seal was slowly waking in response to the destruction.

The icy rush of pure evil crawled over his skin and Naruto shifted his eyes to meet his own. The Seal disliked the alien complacency of the look and Sasuke was already gnashing his teeth at the thought of tearing the expression from his alpha's face. The blonde was annoying, too strong, but he wrought such lovely devastation too and that was tempting. The Seal was conflicted, roiling with emotion even as it slowly began seeping into Sasuke's own awareness, the hungry wanting barely dimmed by his iron control.

"I feel…cold." Sasuke whispered, the best warning he could attempt as the writhing beast locked within his blood stirred and rattled its chains.

"Almost there." Naruto whispered, gritting his teeth.

"Naruto…There's so much death…" Sasuke hissed and the sound was closer to the awful thing he kept barely locked in his mind.

"Come on…a bit farther…" Naruto snarled, eyes glued to the clones.

"We're close, we must be! Look how they're tightening the lines instead of merely trying to distract us. It's because Hiashi's in there, commanding him. Let me kill him. Let me kill him." Sasuke asked, gripping Naruto's arm affectionately as the Seal sent another nauseating chill through his blood.

"The commander could be Hinata." Naruto replied, blue eyes as still as a serpent's in the luminous glow of his face.

"I thought you didn't care?" Sasuke quipped, smirking.

"I don't." Naruto said, raising an eyebrow at his tone.

"Then let me have him, please lover? Make a gift of him to me, I want a new toy…" Sasuke chuckled, the Seal too close to ignore as he lathed his tongue against the pulse in Naruto's throat.

"I suppose the prize goes to whoever finds him first. If that's you and whoever else you have in there, it's only fair." Naruto sighed, eyes worried.

"Only fair…" Sasuke echoed, laughing as their formation slashed through another battalion of terrified people.

"I don't care what it takes." Naruto snarled, turning towards him, his eyes burning with some wordless surrender and a little madness as well.

"I'll find him," Sasuke said, grinning like a maniac, "And I'll break him in ways no one has ever even seen before. I won't permit him to die until I've used every nerve, every last fiber, until his soul remembers the pain…"

"Do whatever you like, Teme. Just don't eat him." Naruto said, kissing him and deftly avoiding Sasuke's attempts to bite his tongue.

"Uh…Not even the pieces?!" Sasuke asked the voice of the Seal strong in the breathy groan of disappointment.

"That's the only condition. Do whatever else pleases you, baby. I want him to feel his death into the next reincarnation. Believe it." Naruto growled.

"Let's move onto the next wave then." Sasuke said, almost moaning with the thrilling rush of so much death.

"Send them." Naruto agreed.

The swooping winged clones activated their Sharingan, buoyed by Naruto's endless energy and the burning cold of the wakening Seal, shrieking like vultures circling above a fresh kill. Arching in fiendish grace, they began searching for two chakra signatures. One would be Neji, and Sasuke devoted more than half his forces to the active search for their mate, the hunger in the Seal echoing his own desire for the brunette's return. The Seal rumbled inside his soul, cold and deep, eager. The demonic thing was just as invested in finding Neji as Sasuke was, though not for the same reasons, and Sasuke shivered as he tried to stem the flood of the Seal's desire into something he could manage. He still had control, barely, but it was enough. The rest of the clones began doggedly hunting for Hiashi, flying low over the gathered forces and examining the chakra of each soldier in turn, the chakra of a hundred men filling Sasuke's already burning brain.

"Easy, baby." Naruto cautioned as Sasuke's left eye began to bleed.

"Fuck off, we want them! We want to find them! One for the pain and the other for pleasure, yesss…." Sasuke hissed and continued looking.

Using more than three sharingan clones at a time was well beyond his own limits, simply too much information to sort through, but Naruto's chakra supported him and Sasuke wasn't looking at everything. He glanced from one body to the next, searching for a few key places in the chakra web that would identify the individuals he sought. The difficulty was that the Hyuuga clan soldiers were so close to one another genetically that every person's energy looked almost exactly the same on casual inspection. The technique taxed him, the pain boring into his eyes in a way Sasuke had almost forgotten. Only a few years ago, the sharingan was excruciatingly painful to use any time he employed the technique, but being enthralled to Naruto, the visual talent became as easy as breathing. Sasuke grunted and focused, searching. Only extremely careful breeding could make a hundred people all look so similar, but his own clan used the same strategy and he already knew the way around it. There was one sign, however small, that would surely give him his prey, something he knew how to recognize as readily the sound of his own name. Sasuke had once used the tell to kill his own Master long ago and the extra brightness in the chakra lines at the temples was something that experience taught him never to ignore. Those meridians only grew bright when someone was desperate to win and ready to give anything for victory.

OoOoOoO

Sakura met Tsunade at the gate just as the sky on the north side of town exploded with scarlet light and the muffled booming of explosions close enough to move the air, but still too far away for her to feel the vibration. She frowned. That was Naruto, the blossoming flames arching up into the sky had all the character of massive amounts of chakra expenditure and godlike fury that even Sasuke would be unable to match. The battle was underway and she gasped as another stabbing pain arching through her abdomen. Even as distant as she was, both physically and through the link, the effervescent rage was almost enough to raise her pulse. The second volley of explosions sounded just as the sound of whispering feet came through the trees over-head. Sakura smiled and almost swayed with relief, her sensei was faster than she'd hoped.

Tsunade leapt down from the trees, breathing hard, but still perfectly graceful. Sakura smiled at the godaime hokage as the woman stood, brushing the snow from her shoulders and removing her wide traveling hat with an irate flourish. Tsunade wasn't happy, that was more than obvious from her expression, but she was there and that was all Sakura wanted at the moment. Tsunade was far older than she looked, wise in anything medical or political and, most importantly, she was someone the young matriarch could trust.

"Sakura! What in the hell going on?! Naruto still hasn't invited any kind of diplomatic intervention and…" Tsunade began, her large breasts heaving with the exertion of running all the way from the tower.

"Naruto doesn't know I've called you, but there's nothing you can do to stop it. One of the clans is going to fall tonight and I just need someone to…to…oooh!" She groaned as the pain came again.

"Shit! Is it true labor or just practice contractions?" Tsunade asked, running to her side like a blond flash and putting a hand against her belly.

"I…I don't know, they don't seem regular, but they're certainly strong…" Sakura answered, panting.

"By Kami! And you're supposed to hold off a siege like this?!" Tsunade squawked indignantly, "I'm gonna wring those boys' necks! All four of them!"

"I'm sure they'll be most apologetic…if we all live." Sakura huffed.

"Bloody idiots! Just goes to show that intelligence isn't additive…" Tsunade growled, hiking up her robes and hefting Sakura into her arms as if she weighed nothing.

The girl squeaked in surprise, but she was in no condition to resist her old teacher. Despite the utter indignity of being carried, Sakura was desperately glad that the Hokage was there to help her hold the pieces together. With Tsunade, the frightened young woman knew she could count on both sound advice and medical help, not to mention the comfort of a familiar face beside her. Little things like friends and teachers became exceedingly important when one's husbands were hell-bent on pitched battle against the most well established clan-head in the kingdom. She giggled a little at the sheer magnitude of it all and Tsunade narrowed her eyes in a way that would have meant a 72 hour psychiatric hold for anyone else in the universe. The Hokage shifted Sakura's weight a bit against her shoulder and then hopped lightly onto one of the gate posts for a single moment to observe the fires issuing from the Hyuuga compound.

"Careful, sensei," The girl whispered, "You're not as young as you used to be."

Tsunade scowled ferociously at her, but sprang back down onto the garden path with equal grace, landing with a soft puff of snow and all the indignation of a queen who'd been offered a piece of quartz instead of a diamond. Sakura rolled her eyes. The woman was far too proud to admit anything like weakness even though she was old enough to be Sakura's grandmother and a little concern was certainly appropriate. Being carried by her teacher was strange, and embarrassing, but the girl tried to let go of as much foolish vanity as she could and simply enjoy the comfort of the gesture for what it was. Tsunade carried her back into the house with the kind of maternal authority almost everyone in Konohakagure had learned to fear, but too many years had passed between the two women for Sakura to be intimidated. If anything, she found Tsunade's fierceness soothing and Sakura finally allowed herself to relax a fraction.

The house was dark and creepy, filled with weapons caches and traps, but the Hokage merely wrinkled her nose at the place like Sakura's mother would when she found dust on the shelves. Sakura gestured towards the bedroom and Tsunade moved into the space like she owned it, glaring at the collection of grenades on the bed with obvious disapproval. If Sasuke and Naruto did manage to return in one piece, they were in for one hell of a tirade. Materializing a monkey summons to move the explosives aside with an annoyed flick of her hand, Tsunade put Sakura on the bed and pulled a stethoscope from a pocket in her voluminous kimonos. Without another word of explanation and nothing like an apology, the woman put the ear-pieces in with the smoothness of long, long practice and began listening, her expression weirdly neutral. Sakura fought the urge to fidget.

"Rate and rhythm are both normal." She said at last.

"I could have told you that!" Sakura grumbled.

"Hush, you are in no position for sass! I think we're in the clear, but I'll still have to examine you." Tsunade warned.

"I know." Sakura replied.

"Were you going to tell me at some point that you allowed your little man-harem to fracture your chakra into two completely independent systems feeding your baby separate from the rest of your body or was that supposed to be some kind of surprise?" Tsunade asked testily.

"I haven't been able to leave the compound! Sasuke…" Sakura began.

"Is completely psychotic, but there are some things that women need to tell each other before trying to have a baby!" Tsunade growled.

"Sorry, sensei." Sakura said, doing her best to sound contrite.

"Bah! Young people these days are too independent!" Tsunade huffed, turning around so Sakura could undress.

Sighing, the young woman began undoing the ties of her kimonos with shaking fingers, weirdly nervous even though sensei had once dug an arrowhead out of her left breast and a little pelvic exam was certainly nothing compared to that. So much time had passed since anyone except for her men had touched her and she felt odd, weirdly vulnerable. The Hokage was tapping her fingers impatiently and with one last huff of breath through her nose, Sakura finished and laid back against her pillows, Naruto's scent still clinging faintly to the orange fabric. For a moment Tsunade merely stared at the blank wall, looking at where one of the tapestries should be, saying nothing. Sakura bit her lip and pulled a sheet over her upper body to ward off the chill.

"Are you angry, sensei?" Sakura asked timidly.

"Furious, but not with you, I could never be mad at you for too long." Tsunade replied, chuckling quietly.

"Then…Naruto?"

"No, not even him, not really. Mostly, I'm angry at myself. I knew this would happen, I saw it so clearly, and yet…" She sighed and for once, looked very, very old.

"No one could have known Sai would fall." Sakura offered, trying not to feel uncomfortable about the fact that she was naked in front of her teacher as they talked and as big as a whale.

"What kind of a leader watches her city tear itself apart, and does nothing?" The Hokage asked.

"What could you have done?"

"The worst part is that I don't even know! As Hokage, my hands are tied, I'm absolutely forbidden from interfering with the clans. Even now, clan politics reign supreme. I'd hoped, no maybe even more than hoped, that someday Naruto would be able to change all of it, put the interests of the many ahead of the traditions of a few," She laughed bitterly, "But even he got dragged into their bloody plotting. No one is immune to the bullshit I suppose."

"Naruto tried to remain neutral, we tried everything! Hiashi wouldn't accept peace!" Sakura hissed defensively, drawing her knees up as far as they would go with her belly in the way.

"Hiashi, the old bastard, maybe I should have just killed him myself!" Tsunade growled.

"Maybe, but then you wouldn't be Hokage and we need you to much." Sakura whispered and her old teachers' shoulders finally relaxed.

"Well, either way, we are too busy now to fret about it." Tsunade sniffed, turning to face her at last.

The Hokage moved between Sakura's legs and examined her with the gentleness and proficiency only the most experienced physicians ever achieved, her fingers probing deep enough to hurt, but not as much as the next contraction. She grunted softly with the pain, fighting hard not to tense up. The Hokage pulled a small vial of oil from her sleeve and drew a jutsu on Sakura's belly, which the girl couldn't see well enough to read, but which she assumed performed the same function as an ultrasound. Minutes passed and she began wondering if there were something really wrong as the older woman stared into her uterus to the little life inside. Finally, the Hokage waved her hand and dispelled the energy, sitting back on the edge of the bed with a contemplative sigh.

"Well? Are we okay?" Sakura asked timidly.

"I think so, though I have to confess that I've never seen energy work even remotely as complicated as what you've got going on in there. I assume that has to be the work of Neji Hyuuga and our little resident psychopath since no one else is brilliant enough to figure it out or arrogant enough to pull it off. It's a miracle you lived through the procedure." The Hokage said, shaking her head.

"Is it…is it intact?" Sakura asked timidly.

"Yes, and before you ask,the baby seems to be fine too. The problem is what Naruto's doing, he's drawing too much energy from the thrall and it's causing the energetic web inside you to shift energy from one organ to another too quickly." Tsunade explained.

Sakura fought not to shudder. The thrall always seemed so endless, an ocean of energy that could never be abused or exhausted, but she supposed there must be a limit to everything. If anyone could find a limit to something like the thrall, to himself, that person would certainly be Naruto. Naruto had no conception of his own vulnerability, which was always the problem anyway, but now there was more than just his body at stake. The Hokage stood and removed her gloves, stripping them from her hands at the wrists, her expression closed and a little worried.

"What does that mean?" Sakura asked at last, mostly to have something to say.

"Well, nothing right now. The structure is well constructed and flexible enough to withstand the insult as it is now. The only thing you feel are some disorganized uterine contractions, which are normal in this stage of pregnancy anyway, so I'm not really concerned about your body. The problem is that I'm not sure what will happen if he loses Sasuke or if Hiashi decides to use the curse-mark on Neji. I have no idea what Naruto was thinking sending him back…" Tsunade said, biting her thumb and shaking her head angrily.

"Well, Neji isn't under the thrall and Sasuke's pretty hard to kill. Everything will probably be fine…" Sakura laughed nervously.

"What are you talking about? Of course Neji's under the thrall!" The Gondaime asked, crossing her arms with a huff. Sakura shook her head.

"No, no he's not. Something's wrong with him, with his energy, Naruto tried to put him under a few weeks ago, but nothing happened." Sakura said, sitting up and slipping her under-kimono back on.

She could tell immediately that her answer was not what the Hokage expected to hear. Tsunade stared at her for a few moments, wide eyed and obviously confused before her expression became shuttered again. The Hokage brought her hand to her chin, obviously thinking and Sakura decided that somehow, somewhere, she must have missed something.

"Sensei..."

"What normally happens when he screws one of them?" Tsunade asked instead of answering her, raising a querulous eyebrow.

"Well, nothing I guess, but you of all people should know that the initiation is really different…" The matriarch huffed.

"Sakura, there was no initiation because Neji's already been under the thrall for months. He's been enthralled to Naruto since you performed the chakra transfer, the one done in the hopsital…" Tsunade whispered, eyes firm and intent.

"Wait, what?" Sakura asked, eyes widening.

"When you saved his life after the match with Hinata, you had to give Neji enough energy to restart his heart, enough that the apparatus began to break…"

"Naruto wasn't even touching him!"

"I don't think it matters. Their energy moved, back and forth, I imagine that it was more than enough of Naruto's chakra to claim him." Tsunade shrugged as if the fact that two people had merged without even touching was somehow coincidental.

"How can you possibly know this? It's just a theory! No one has ever managed a successful chakra transfer with a jnchuuriki before! Not in a surgical setting!" Sakura argued fiercely, her belly suddenly cold and tight with terror.

Despite what she wanted to think, the whole procedure did seem weirdly similar to when Naruto initiated the thrall with Sasuke, now that she thought back to that day so many weeks ago. There was the movement of chakra, the opposition in Neji's flesh to the foreign energy as well as the pain of instinctual resistance being overcome. Even heavily sedated, the Hyuuga had been screaming as Naruto's energy poured into his body, only calming after his vital signs spiked far outside their margin of safety. She swallowed. Everything was the same, every reaction she could have possibly anticipated in the initiation of the thrall happened in that operating room, but Sakura didn't want to believe what her own logic implied. She didn't want to accept the fact that Neji's choices and freedom had been compromised by her own hand, the shackles of his commitment to her clan clasped in a hasty attempt to save his life.

"No one has ever attempted a chakra transfer with a jinchuuriki because of the risk of the thrall. The recipient of the energy might survive only to end up unwillingly mated to the vessel! That's why it isn't done, Sakura, not because it isn't possible. I thought you knew about this! I thought you decided to go along with the procedure anyway despite the risk…" The Hokage said shaking her head in confusion.

"No! No! I had no idea that something like that was possible! We all thought Naruto had to be…had to be sexual with him!" Sakura yelped, shaking her head.

"Then…Why did Hiashi marry him into the household in the first place? I thought he did it because he had no choice, because he found out that Neji was already tied to Naruto's chakra? From what you're telling me, no one knew he might end up enthralled?" Tsunade asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, sensei. No one even thought of it…" Sakura admitted, hiding her face.

"Sakura! For shame! How could you do something like that without knowing how a jinchuuriki's energy might react? It's practically basic science!" The older physician snapped.

"I'm sorry! We didn't know enough about how it worked and…and he was dying sensei! Dying!" Sakura spat, suddenly defensive.

"Would he have preferred to die? Did anyone even ask?" The Hokage replied tartly.

"No. We did not ask, because that's completely ridiculous!" Sakura argued, practically shouting.

"Is it? He was taken from ANBU, Sakura, taken from his people and his duty. Everything Neji cared about before was taken away from him that day and you are just as responsible as anyone else! He was excommunicated from his clan for Kami's sake…!"

"Not because of us! We made no claims on Neji's freedom, thrall or not!" Sakura argued hotly.

"Then why would Hiashi the push for arranged marriage? Why this grand charade?" The older woman asked, bringing her fingers thoughtfully to her lips.

"I'm not sure. We were all surprised. Naruto thought that it was some last, ditch effort towards peace between the clans. Sasuke, of course, thought he was planted here as a spy." Sakura said, biting her lip.

"As far as Hiashi is concerned, Sasuke was probably right. I doubt the old bastard realizes that Neji was enthralled in the hospital, he doesn't know enough about jinchuuriki and if you were also unaware…he can't have known…" Tsunade mused.

"Maybe it's far more simple, maybe he just wanted the chance to attack Naruto when he was weak after claiming a new subordinate. It's been tried before." Sakura suggested.

"Regardless, you have placed a very dangerous pawn into your enemy's hands by sending Neji back to him with your terms! He can easily be used against you!" Tsunade grumbled.

"If you're right and he is under the thrall, all Naruto would have to do is compel him to return to us. Naruto is bringing him home and Neji won't betray us again." Sakura said firmly.

"Your naiveté is charming, but that's not what I'm talking about." Tsunade sighed.

"What then?" Sakura asked tightly, tired already and feeling frayed by the news.

"The curse-mark."

"What about it?" Sakura asked warily.

"It's an energetic fetter, one placed long before Naruto's energy did or did not claim him. His energy is already disrupted and the chakra he shares with Naruto moves both ways…" Tsunade said, crossing her arms.

"Oh…Oh no…" Sakura whispered.

OoOoOoO

Kiba watched the sudden flood of scarlet fire into the skies, the arching flames dimming the stars for a single heartbeat before falling back down to earth. A moment later the trees in which he and his stolen puppies crouched were rocked with the scalding the wind generated from the explosions, trunks bending in creaking agony the way they would in a hurricane. He grimaced. Those weren't the conservative, directed attacks of a man trying to find a singular target and avoid collateral damage. Naruto was conducting total war, probably burning the whole damn place to the ground with whomever was unlucky enough to still be left inside it, sawing his way through the buildings to the main vanguard parked in the compound center. He whined under his breath and hoped again that his wife had managed to make it out of there with the trailing refugees who were still trickling away from what was slowly turning into a massacre.

Below his perch, Akimaru crouched against the snow, nose to the wind and concentrating. The women and children, the first to appear in a disorganized jumble in the streets below, were already safely placed at the Inuzuka compound. Kiba was still a little amazed that they managed to reach them at all. Moving in a terrified, wide eyed clump, the refugees scattered at every noise like deer in a lightning storm and managed to get lost twice along the three mile path from one house to another. Kiba shook his head. They were ninja, schooled ninja, but most of the branch house women had never been allowed outside of the compound and had no idea about something as basic as walking through a city. His own young troops were really no better, dumbstruck by every well-lit sign or overly large building, though the boys tried their best to hide the fact that they'd never actually seen the outside world before. As a male child, Kiba was not part of the direct line of ascension in his house which, he supposed, made him a bit like a branch house member, but Inuzuka never restricted its people this way. The Hyuuga branch house members were made prisoner by their ignorance as much as any physical barrier and the invisible shackles were proving much harder to break.

Already, Granny was half-way to her wits end trying to explain to the women how to put on armor and set up a preliminary perimeter at the edges of the compound; something Inuzuka children learned to do when they were three. The Hyuuga women were not permitted to learn ninjutsu beyond the basic tenants, with a few exceptions, and they were only a little better than civilians as far as the siege preparations were concerned. Kiba watched the next volley of jutsu driven fire and decided that if Naruto was the victor in this miniature war and then decided he wanted Hinata's head, it was going to be a very short siege. Above him, Aki and Yumi used the Byukugan to assess the complete and utter destruction of the only home the boys' had ever known. Kiba would have given more than a few coins to know what they were thinking, but now was not the time for conversation. Hinata and Hanabi were still out there somewhere and Kiba couldn't just run off into the night to search for them without breaking the delicate protocols established in the alliance.

"They're doing something different now, a formation. Looks like teeth or something…" Yumi whispered down to him, voice faltering only a fraction.

"Teeth? Jawgear?" Kiba asked.

"No, it's like jawgear, but smoother and moving up and down instead of to the side in a circle. This technique is rotating, but it looks way more complicated and they're doing it with clones…" The boy hissed.

"Shit, that sounds like Morningstar!" Kiba groaned.

"Morningstar?" Aki asked.

"It's one of Master Jiraiya's most difficult formations. I never thought anyone would be able to pull it off with clones though…" Kiba sighed.

"Aki, is your mother with the refugees?" Yumi asked softly.

"Yeah, but my father's still in the compound." Aki answered softly, eyes fixed to the surging devastation a few blocks away.

"Maybe there's still time!" Yumi whispered, "Maybe we can do something…"

"Anyone still still behind those walls is gonna die, boys," Kiba said softly, "Running off half-cocked on a rescue mission won't do us any good."

"But…" Yumi pushed.

"Everyone's gonna to lose someone in this!" Kiba snapped to the assembled troops, "You just keep yourselves sharp and maybe we'll lose fewer."

"Hai, Kiba–sama." They replied in unison, but there was deep disappointment in their tone.

Kiba sighed and gazed out through the veil of the snow crusted pine trees, his own vision far too limited to see troop movements or formation lines. Hinata would get out, she would, the Hyuuga princess was probably just waiting to make sure the last of the refugees made it through. Kiba grit his teeth. He was still missing someone too, dammit, but recklessness would be very costly in this war and he needed to set an example for the others. Even the combined might of his own clan and whatever soldiers Hiashi might have left wouldn't be enough to stop Naruto.

"The best we can hope is that Naruto will be happy with butchering Hiashi and whatever forces he's still got in there. Naruto isn't a killer by nature and he might very well leave us alone, but keep watching anyway." Kiba hissed.

"You think he'd come for us? For everyone?" Kaze asked from below, the fear tangible in his voice.

"I think it's a possibility." Kiba said.

"Kami! What would we do?" Yumi asked breathlessly.

"We'd run, scatter into the other countries, and maybe some of us might live." Kiba said grimly.

The boys traded a look, their freshly tattooed faces very grim in the shifting, ochre light of the roaring fires. People in the Hyuuga clan were rarely so direct and Kiba knew that his words seemed abrupt almost to the point of cruelty to his young soldiers, but there was nothing to be gained by benevolent ambiguity. Tonight, the Hyuuga clan would almost certainly die and the only question was whether or not Naruto would allow it to be reborn in another form or if the whole family would be obliterated the way the Uchihas were. Kiba knew that if the matter were up to him, if someone had come into his home and killed his loved ones, he would soak the ground with their blood and then sew salt in behind it. He was more than capable of killing anyone and everything that might look the slightest bit like a threat, but Kiba hoped that Naruto was a better man. The deafening destruction rising from the Hyuuuga compound would, however, imply that he was not.

OoOoOoO

Naruto felt numb and he'd expected to feel something else, to feel vindicated in some impalpable way when his forces finally shattered through the walls and gardens standing between his rage and the center of Hiashi's forces. Instead he felt nothing. The ache of Sai's loss still hurt and the nagging worry that Sasuke was losing himself to the Seal still nagged and the awful anger filling his being was barely dimmed. In one night, he'd wrought more bloodshed than the entire massacre of Sasuke's family, because the Hyuuga clan was bigger and there were more bodies to destroy, but he did not feel any better. Blood was, as Sasuke warned, a poor balm for the pain of a broken heart.

The wind smelled like ashes and gore, burning in his nostrils in the same way the rage burned in his blood, but Naruto refused to turn away from the spectacle. This sin would not be something to share and if he truly was going to take so many lives, the very least he could do would be to bear witness to it.

"Death is never pretty, kit, but it is necessary." The Fox rumbled.

"I thought I would feel something, or something else at least…" Naruto murmured into his own thoughts.

"We just haven't killed enough yet, we haven't killed the right target. How can we feel differently when Hiashi still lives?" The Fox argued.

"You're right. Killing his pawns is just useless butchery and he's the one we really want." Naruto agreed.

"We're very close too. Look at Sasuke; your subordinate can almost taste him now," The Fox hissed and Naruto could practically feel the demon lashing its tails.

Naruto did look, but unlike Kyuubi, he did not find the sight of his best friend and beloved mate wearing a death's head grin and giggling madly to himself all that reassuring. The concentration required for Morningstar was probably the only thing holding the dark haired murderer back from complete insanity and rampant bloodlust. Sasuke was dipping into the Seal or perhaps merely being tugged into the jutsu by the violence and cruelty of what they were doing. Either way, Naruto figured that the Seal's awakening was his fault along with everything else. The attack on Hiashi's holdings was his choice alone, his move, and the guilt of the murders happening there was a price he was already more than willing to pay. He could accept responsibility for the monster in Sasuke's skin and all the lives they were taking too, but he hated to watch his subordinate suffer. Already, his beautiful killer wasn't sounding like himself, his voice tainted along with his chakra and Naruto wondered vaguely how far he should let it go.

"He's losing it. It won't be long until the Seal takes him over, believe it." The vessel whispered in his mind to Kyuubi.

"Let him use it if he must. We can always pull it back from his mind with the thrall as we did before." The Kitsune shrugged, sounding entirely too blasé for Naruto's comfort.

"It hurts him." He hissed.

"And he loves to hurt." The Fox countered.

"That's mean, even for you."

"It's also true."

Naruto glanced to his partner out of the corner of his eye, watching carefully for any signs that he might imminently surrender to the madness of the Seal, instead of just using the evil for their own goals. The Seal of Heaven, he knew, almost had a mind of its own and on some things Sasuke and the monster could be in accord. On others, they disagreed. When his subordinate agreed or disagreed too much with his resident parasite, he became more vulnerable to full possession. Too much feeling on one side or the other and his lover would teeter and fall into the abyss. Even now Naruto could practically feel the danger of it in the razor edge of Sasuke's control. The damn thing was almost like Kyuubi, only way, way more evil and very new, a demon freshly spawned out of Orochimaru's unholy experiments. He shuddered and looked away. Teme's mind was relatively stable for now and he wondered if Kyuubi was right, if perhaps letting him suffer a bit was permissible if doing so served their goals. The Seal and it wickedness was certainly nothing Sasuke hadn't dealt with before, but…he grit his teeth. He was supposed to be protecting everyone, dammit!

"We can win without it, the Seal is a liability…" Naruto argued.

"He brought this upon himself and used it long before he came to be our mate. You cannot protect him from everything…" Kyuubi muttered.

"Yes, I can. Isn't that the whole point!?" Naruto snapped.

"The point is to protect our female and I think Sasuke understands that better than you do! We cannot afford to be weak now, to falter, the Hyuuga will use that against us and we don't have the forces to recover if we lose any ground!"

"We haven't lost any ground, but we will if I have to fight both him and Hiashi at the same time! Leaving him this way is a risk, believe it!" Naruto contended.

"We've lost one subordinate already and if we give Hiashi the chance, he will take Neji from us as well! You cannot afford to be emotional, kit! This battle hangs by a thread!" The Fox snarled.

"I'm going to stop it." Naruto said stubbornly.

"No! If you do that our formation will fall apart!" The Fox howled.

"We'll reform."

"We haven't found him yet! Give Sasuke more time!" Kyuubi hissed.

"I know. I don't like it either, but…I love him." Naruto whispered.

"I know you do, in many ways I do as well. I understand your love kit, but we're doing this for them! We have to wipe the Hyuuga out or we'll never be safe!" Kyuubi pleaded.

"Is there even such a thing?" Naruto asked.

"As what?" Kyuubi asked, confused.

"As safety?" He wondered.

The Fox was silent at that, but the deep chasm of ancient sadness filled his mind again and that was answer enough. No matter what they did or did not do, nothing was absolute and the Fox knew the truth of their vulnerability as well as he did, the same vulnerability Sasuke had once thought to avoid by killing everyone he loved. Naruto frowned and tried not to wince as Sasuke laced his fingers through his own and dug the sharpened beginnings of claws into his palm with enough force to draw blood. The black haired nin purred, eyes spinning bloody red with the sharingan, but his face was still mostly human and Naruto couldn't help but wonder.

Maybe Kyuubi was right, maybe if he just looked the other way for a little while they could find Hiashi and bring Neji home without risking anything. Maybe using the Seal was justified. In the compound below their vantage point on the wall, the clones were still shredding through troops like a shuriken through paper, but the pull on his chakra was enormous and Naruto knew Sasuke was probably feeling it even more acutely. Soon, his subordinate would be fatigued and Hiashi was still elusive among the bunched formations of Hyuuga soldiers below.

The Seal was a well of energy, just as Kyuubi was, and Naruto could understand why the old Fox wanted to use it. Even when he lay paralyzed and badly injured from his mating with Sai, Sasuke managed to hold off an aggravated Hyuuga assault for hours by wielding the Seal of Heaven. Orochimaru's creation was an excellent weapon, but a very unstable one and every moment his subordinate dug into its power was another opportunity for the Seal to turn against them.

Sasuke snarled and gnashed his teeth, which were looking suspiciously fang-like, but he still maintained enough control to avoid transforming completely, holding the evil at bay. As long as his Teme held the madness in check, the Seal only helped them and even if he was overwhelmed…Naruto shook his head. Allowing Sasuke to use the monster as a fully awakened entity was not an option he was willing to entertain any further, whether it was a viable option or not. Shredding his subordinate's mind apart only because he had the power to put it back together again was the kind of thing people like Hiashi and Madara did, and Naruto was not prepared to become anything like them. He gently pulled Sasuke's claws from his flesh and turned to face the other man fully.

"Time to take the field, Teme." He whispered.

"I haven't found him yet…" Sasuke snarled, jerking his wrist out of Naruto's grasp.

"We'll find him on the field and Neji too. We'll do it alone. We don't need the Seal either, believe it." Naruto said, pressing his lips to the deep crease of anger between Sasuke's elegant eyebrows.

"Don't you dare ssstop ussss!" Sasuke warned, hissing angrily.

The icy wash of sadism coming from the thing inhabiting Sasuke's body was almost enough to morph his own spiritual numbness into something like true pain and even watching the evil without feeling it was ugly enough. With an inhuman snarl, Sasuke bit him on the mouth, the wound gushing sharp pain in a warm drizzle down his chin. Naruto winced, but refused to let go even as he felt the clones falter and begin to lose synchrony, gazing fearlessly into the red vortex of Sasuke's eyes. No more. No compromise with wicked things or malicious people for the sake of mutual interests.

"Pull back, Teme. Lock it away." Naruto ordered.

"You…can't…" The voice was definitely not Sasuke's, a rasping metallic hiss filled with unearthly hatred.

"Back!" Naruto snarled, feeling the thrall move through his energy and into Sasuke's ready channels, incarcerating the monster again.

Sasuke shrieked, trembling with both the pain of the order and unwilling pleasure as the thrall rocked him, uniting him to Naruto's intention. The jinchuuriki could almost feel it, the seething coils of the Seal of Heaven, the slithering devil trying to escape the shackles of energy flung around it. Naruto grit his teeth and focused even as he felt the clones dissolve into milling chaos as Sasuke lost his concentration, the neat battle formation shattered. For a moment, there was only rigid tension in his subordinate's body, his back drawn tight like a bow in unnatural rigor. Naruto fretted, wondering if he was only causing more hurt, but then Sasuke sighed, falling back against him with a small moan. His eyelids fluttered a moment, dark butterfly wings against the porcelain smoothness of his cheeks, smearing the drying blood there.

"That was extremely stupid." Sasuke said, swallowing carefully as he raised his eyes.

"I know, but…I just can't watch it do that to you, change you…" Naruto confessed.

"Our formation was finally working and I had it under control! I was so close to finding him and you decide to go all soft! Baka! You have really shitty timing…" Sasuke hissed, pushing out of his arms.

"What's the point of all this death if I make you suffer too?" Naruto asked, nettled.

"We all suffer, moron." Sasuke muttered and crouched low over his heels, muttering as he tried to organize his forces.

Naruto sighed as he felt Kyuubi echo the sentiment, but there was no point wasting time arguing with either of them. Whether or not Sasuke should allow himself to be possessed by an artificial manifestation of hatred any time it became convenient was a topic for another time. Now, they had a clan head to kill. With a gesture to Sasuke, Naruto leapt from the wall and raced through the ranks of his clones, leashing them back to his will as he went. Sasuke followed, gesturing to the few winged clones still material after his chakra was disrupted by the thrall. They dove into the heart of Hiashi's holdings, moving like a pair of hunting falcons through the charred remains of what had once been buildings, gardens and homes. The little resistance they met was easily overwhelmed by Naruto's still numerous clones, but the Hyuuga formations grew stronger as they neared the center.

Sasuke organized his clones into a hammerhead formation, smashing them up against the Hyuuga battalions like a battering ram with steel spines. Overhead, the winged clones spat fire, igniting the few buildings not already burning around the main parade ground and neatly cutting off any escape into the remaing structures. The wet squelch of a hundred razor-sharp blades snapped into flesh with each push of Sasuke's troops was like the sound of unripe melons being smashed open, the sound still audible beneath the chorus of agonized screams. The Hyuuga lines faltered, buckling against the onslaught of hundreds of sword-wielding copies of the most feared killer in the world, the fear of seeing Sasuke's face on the clones almost as deadly as their taijutsu.

Naruto used the weakness to launch his own offensive, spreading his troops into small three man teams each generating miniature cyclones to release into the massed forces trying to organize off to the right flank. Not quite rasengan, but close enough to drive the Hyuuga common soldiers back against the slashing claws of Sasuke's attack. The butchery continued for a heartbeat, the maddening movement of too many bodies and flickering flames almost confounding Naruto's vision, but the jinchuuriki simply closed his eyes and continued on by touch alone. The Hyuuga's abandoned formations to attack as individuals, engaging Naruto's clones in hand to hand combat, trying to fracture his focus. It was a good tactic, probably the best defense against a shadow army, but Naruto had been using kage no bunshin far too long to fall for such an obvious distraction. He pulled his clones away from the scattered nin, harmonizing them into a steel ribbon pattern three bodies deep, a formation specifically designed to punch through disorganized opponents. The ribbon undulated, the outer clones snapping kunai into their Hyuuga opponents while the center shifted forward.

The carnage wrought by the technique was less than Morningstar, but still terrifying and the snow underfoot was completely melted with the steaming blood of enough people to fill an entire army. The gore made the footing slippery and even Naruto had to avoid losing his stance in the river of gore that was both sticky and almost ankle deep. Sasuke, ever graceful, sprang up onto the still burning buildings and commanded his clones to launch a volley of arrows into the swirling maelstrom, trusting that Naruto's clones would be nimble enough to move. As one, the fox-masked kage no bunshin fell to their bellies, avoiding the arrows and taking the opportunity to slice curved knives into any unprotected ankles they found. Several of the clones were still using Sharingan, searching madly for their target as both claws and weapons found living flesh.

Synchronized with Sasuke in a way that was beyond mere thought, Naruto changed direction, forcing the already startled Hyuuga vanguard to shift focus and open their left flank. Sasuke's hammerhead dispersed, the clones moving like spiders fleeing a shaft of daylight, ricocheting like bullets into the fresh veterans still standing behind the lead lines. They spun, pulling the formation apart through sheer force of momentum and ferocity, tossing combatants aside like dolls. Naruto snarled, feeling another tail manifest as the spiritual flames roared around his body with the rising battle rage.

He pulled deep into the well of Kyuubi's chakra and stirred a finger into the already milling air above their heads, generating a pounding gust of colder wind to cut like an axe through the last of Hiashi's fresh troops. The technique was one he'd already experimented with, something the Fox had inspired while in the combined form. More than momentum, the technique relied on a disruption of temperature, pulling the heat from one layer of air while heating another. The sharp scythe of air stole the sound from the battle for an eerie moment of unnatural stillness before carving into the stunned troops like a gigantic sickle through a stand of brittle, winter wheat. The Hyuuga soldiers caught against the blade of furious air were rent in two, their screams silenced abruptly in the swirling air.

"Kaze no Buredo." Naruto whispered, naming the jutsu even as he moved to swing the blade again.

Just as he released the technique, he felt it, pounding through his spirit like the resonant baying of a hunting wolf. Sasuke saw Hiashi. Sasuke was already moving to intercept him and the quarry was on the move. The blade of wind forgotten, Naruto sprang towards his subordinate, feet barely touching the ground. He moved like a missile, the flames of his tails smashing anything that got into his way. The Hyuuga forces unlucky enough to be caught in the swirling flames were incinerated in less than an instant as Naruto surged forward, barely slowing him. He moved toward the pull in the thrall and found Sasuke was already engaged with the Hyuuga leader, swords crossed with tanto steel against steel and shedding sparks into the smoky twilight of the far corner of the parade grounds. Naruto watched Teme spin and strike low, trying to cut Hiashi with the sharpened steel blade tucked along the side of his boot, but the Hyuuga leader sprang up and away.

Naruto snarled and closed with him, already making the swirling gestures to generate rasengan, his father's gift, the ultimate wind technique. Hiashi pulled a heavy chain scythe from behind his cloak and spun, sending the weapon in a deadly strike towards Naruto, but he repelled it with an irate flick of wind. Hiashi re-grouped quickly, flipping up and over the chains of his own weapon, drawing the blade back in a slicing arch. Sasuke back-flipped over the razor sharpness with barely a millimeter to spare, and brought his sword down with the squealing shriek of steel against stone onto Hiashi's battle mask. The porcelain shattered, revealing the Hyuuga lord's sneering face and a fresh surge of hatred and anger pounded through the jinchuuriki's blood. Naruto surged forward with one of his tails, shattering the cobbled surface of the courtyard with the force of his attack as Hiashi spun away, pulling the chain scythe with him.

"You're finished, you butcher!" Naruto snarled, pursuing him with rasengan still building in his hands.

"What can you do, little commoner brat?" Hiashi taunted, changing his stance.

He was going to perform eight trigrams, sixty four palms, but Naruto already knew that he would be ready first. With a savage smile, the jinchuuriki dug deep into his chakra for the extra ounce of momentum he needed to complete rasengan, shifting the ball of spinning air into his left hand as he prepared to strike. This would be rasengan as it had never been before, the most perfect execution of the technique ever performed and he could already feel the alignment of the air currents bending to his will and awaiting the last push.

"Rasengan!" Naruto roared and moved.

Nothing happened. Nothing at all. The technique simply vanished as if the last fraction of momentum Naruto needed to perform it simply wasn't there, wasn't within his will to command. His eyes widened with shock as the deadly sphere of concentrated air dispersed and disappeared the moment he moved forward with his left arm, leaving only useless, spinning eddies of confused wind in its wake. Naruto was practically frozen in shock. Rasengan had never failed him before, not like this, not like the ability was simply…no longer his own. Sasuke's eyes widened and he moved to intercept Hiashi, but it was too late. With a cruel chuckle, Hiashi struck, pounding his chakra hardened fists into Naruto's body with the speed and force of a locomotive, hitting both flesh and energy.

The jinchuuriki gasped and choked, blood spraying from his lips as Sasuke shrieked with the shared agony. He struck and struck and struck until Naruto knew his flesh was breaking, his chakra blocked. He tried to block the attacks, but his body was clumsy and the rhythm was all wrong, he was off balance. The clones dissipated in a misty rush of air as the jinchuuriki fell to one knee, gasping to pull breath into his ruined chest, choking on the blood.

"See? You really were worthless all along." Hiashi jeered.

OoOoOoO

In the darkness, he drifted, empty and formless among the memories. The sickening feeling of his mother's heart slowing, stopping, beneath the blood-soaked softness of her once plush pelt flooded his senses and then there was only the endless sky above scorching dunes. The blue of it, of the sky, there was something more than hurt in that color…something that reminded him of profound affection and the warmth of love, but it was lost with the currents. The child grieved, soundlessly, but the sorrow was deep. The weight of the shackles hurt, shackles everywhere on his tiny body, burning hot against his quivering skin beneath the merciless sun, and no water for hours and hours and hours. He was carried, an unwilling hostage, carried and sold like a piece of meat to men who lived far, far away from anything he had ever known. The fever burned, scorching his mind, and he wasn't sure what the others wanted until he was already in the grasp of the snake shinobi who lived in the darkness and by then, of course, it was too late.

From heat, from fever and desert, to the ice cold of underground laboratories and damp, freezing tables. He was locked away, no sound, no light except when it served the snake's purposes and then only harsh white light that burned his eyes and hurt his spirit. The child was an oddity, a thing that could change its shape at will or so they said, and there were interested parties who wanted to know how such a phenomenon could be achieved. The power of his mother, they wanted it for their own, and even though the shape was uncomfortable, even though it hurt when he moved or slept or did anything, he refused to change. He wept and no one cared. He was an animal, animals didn't feel.

Almost a year in the tiny cell, pulling everything that he was deep, deep down and locking it away so that the violation couldn't touch his true form. They could take his body, the child no longer cared, but mother's essence would be safe. The cruelty was palpable in the harsh sting of the needle and the icy pain of the scalpel's blade, the reminder that he was nothing more than a specimen to be pulled apart strand by strand. He had to hide, mother wanted him to hide. If the scientist knew, if he ever discovered that the child was not just another orphan, the pain would be worse and then, the child knew, it would never end. If he hid, if he dug all the secrets down into the farthest part of his mind and locked them with heavy chains, if he found a way to forget, then he might eventually be allowed to die. He did want very much to die. The memory was almost unbearable, the days blending together into formless agony of starvation and tests and cold instruments shoved beneath his skin.

He shuddered, the pain moving through his spirit like ripples in water and he wanted so much to fall away from it, fall forever. The darkness moved and he dove, embracing the cold, and the blackness, no stars, no stars so far down, but the pain followed. The chains were broken and his mind was whole, the awful things he'd once buried rising up like tormented spirits to fill him with screaming and sadness once again.

When the others came to burn the laboratory, the child already knew that there was no hope of rescue and that if he escaped, it was only coincidental. No one cared what happened to him. The others did not kill him as he hoped, but instead fed him and brought him to where other children were being held as well. He was told that there really was nothing in his heart after all and that the emotions he felt could be caged away along with the memories so that he could be free of them. He would become the tool he'd always been meant to be. Just an object. Something to use and then discard. The concept made sense; after all he was nothing more than a curiosity, not even a real person. He wanted very much to be empty, to forget, to react and nothing more. He learned to feel nothing and doing so was easy.

He drifted, finding a sense of peace in the memory of emptiness, the yawning chasm wide and black. He knew, because the cycle had happened many times before, that the numbness was only an illusion and that soon the very barrenness of his salvation would begin to ache as well. Soon, there would be the pain again, this time of longing…of hope…too much to interpret and he would fall away from the surface again. The black water lapped and moved, peaks and valley or ice cold nothingness, the only sanctuary he had. There were too many pieces, too many confusing elements, he needed to rest before he could try to put them together. He wanted to sleep forever, to forget until he was made to rememver, but the cloying blackness of the chilly water was restless and he could not freeze into dormancy as easily. He felt a change in the currents, an aching, more than a memory.

There was something else too, something else tugging on his soul like a voice calling from far, far away and no matter how far he went into the endless ocean of darkness, the pull was still there. The sensation was almost like pain, but more urgent, not a part of the nightmare. Something precious called, something he loved being threatened and even though waking meant facing the unveiled horror in his own mind…he stirred, flickering helplessly.

"Naruto…" Whispered soundlessly.

Just a name. He didn't have a name, it wasn't his own, but perhaps the name was attached to something he knew and perhaps even something very important. There was intimacy in the sound of it, something that echoed with the memory of pleasure, with the tantalizing sensation of salvation. The sun, the sun was above the water in the blue, blue, blue sky. He felt fragile, jagged, wounded. The darkness and drifting was a measure of sanctuary, even if the currents were only moving in circles, at least they were cold. The pain, it would be very bad, lurking at the surface where the water was green like her eyes. The light penetrated there and the pain would too, along with the fire and sunshine, but that was where the tugging was coming from as well. Something precious, something he loved being threatened, he loved, he loved and the love was calling…

OoOoOoO

Neji listened to the sounds of battle and fancied he could almost feel Naruto's presence in the vibrating boom of the explosions and the ringing clatter of scampering kage no bunshin along the rooftops. The jinchuuriki's forces were already in the compound and Neji knew without having to look at the rampant destruction that his one-time alpha was furious. Even without Sasuke, without any of them, Naruto was probably unstoppable and everyone remaining inside the walls of his ancestral home was going to die. Everything would be destroyed leaving only a scar on Konoha's soil, an ugly reminder of the price for hate and betrayal. The truth of their ultimate fall was sad, the inescapable fact that soon the proud house of Hyuuga would be utterly demolished by a jinchuuriki's wrath the way Glacier was by Gaara was definitely an event worthy of tragedy. Even so, Neji couldn't even manage a single tear for the death of his home and people. The grief of losing his lovers, of losing a family that loved him the way no one had since the death of his father took all the tears he had and his eyes were painfully dry. He knew that feeling so empty wasn't fair, that his cousins deserved at least a bit of weeping, but life wasn't fair for anyone.

Naruto was coming and, the silver eyed genius hoped, that he would be kind enough to bring him home for righteous sentencing or at least put him out of his misery. Neji was so tired of trying to choose a side that the certitude of his own imminent destruction was almost a comfort, almost, except for the bone deep shame that came along with it. Neji regretted almost every decision he made since losing to Hinata in the arena. He regretted marrying Naruto only to break an honest, loving man's heart and he regretted betraying the only family that ever, truly loved him. He regretted every moment he could have touched Sakura's hair, but chose not to for the sake of propriety, and every missed opportunity to kiss Sasuke's shoulders. He regretted that he never made love with Sai, that he held anything back from them, and that he never told Naruto how much he adored them all. So many things might be different if he'd only told them the truth, if he had just trusted in his feelings instead of following Hiashi's commands like a blind dog.

The night was dark and no lamps were lit, but the rising glow of flames outside the windows was almost as bright as true dawn, the fires reflected against the snow in hellish splendor. Everyone was gone, but one of the guards had managed the presence of mind to shackle his ankle to one of the heavy steel handles in the floor usually reserved for anchoring practice dummies. The steel was well-made, forged using the Byukugan to eliminate flaws and impurities and anchored into the very foundation of the building. He couldn't break the chain and even if there was a way, what would be the point? The guard's actions were intelligent, but redundant. Neji was not planning to escape and he had nowhere to go even if he could. Naruto did not want him and the Hyuuga could not find it in his heart to blame him. He was nothing more than a tool, a beast of burden, a pawn on a board he'd refused for so long to see. Finally, he was made the prisoner he'd been all along, chained in Hiashi's house until they wanted to use him again without any flowery pretenses of affection. Neji grimaced at the thought, feeling sick.

His cousin, she'd known the danger all along. She'd tried so hard to warn him, to save him from being used, but Neji had been too stubborn to listen. Hinata was stronger, she was better than he could ever be, and he chose to ridicule her instead of taking the wisdom for what it was. Neji deserved everything that happened to him, everything, and even a thousand years of pain would barely begin to pay for such blind foolishness. The soft whisper of well-oiled hinges drifted beneath the distant echoes of battle and Neji turned towards the door to see a wedge of light against the floor. The portal opened to reveal a small contingent of senior nin, but he didn't bother taking the time to sort out the identities of the people behind the battle masks. Whoever the masked faces were didn't matter. They were all just dead men anyway.

"Neji, Hiashi-sama commands your presence on the front." The leader, whose voice he recognized as Bunta's , informed him.

Neji ignored him in favor of slowly standing and moving towards the window where Naruto and Sasuke's fires were flickering only a few blocks away. The chain clattered and Neji was again reminded that he was nothing more than a dog, a hound bred for battle. He balled his hands into fists and ground his teeth. Hiashi could command whatever the hell he wanted. Neji was no longer taking orders from him and whatever his Uncle chose to do wouldn't change a damn thing. He would not be a weapon any longer.

"You will dress in your armor and join the vanguard with all speed." Bunta continued, crossing his arms.

"I refuse." Neji said simply, his spirit roaring with satisfaction at even the small show of rebellion.

"You don't have the right to refuse. Just because that demon made you his slut doesn't elevate you above the rest of us, boy! You're still just branch house!" Bunta snarled.

"I'm not going anywhere. Hiashi can fight his wars himself." Neji spat.

"You will fight, Neji Hyuuga, you will or you'll die a traitor's death just like Shinto! No one is immune to the curse-mark!" Someone hissed, voice raw with pain.

"I don't care what he does to me. I'm not afraid of the curse-mark anymore." He whispered.

"Idiot! Are you insane?!" Bunta railed.

"He's in love with that monster! The traitor!" Someone else accused.

"You'll come with us if you know what's good for you!" One of the others shouted.

"Then take me…if you can." Neji hissed.

The squad spread evenly into an offensive pattern, like a pack of wolves intent upon a kill, sinking low into flawless combat stances. Neji allowed his body to fall into a fighting posture as well, the chain rattling ominously as he tried to find solid footing while still keeping his back against the wall. His body was stiff and still cold, but Neji could already feel his blood beginning to flow again as the impotent rage harbored in his heart finally caught against the piercing shards of remorse and ignited. The anger filled him, burning with the same fury as Sasuke's infernos, so strong that for a moment Neji could hardly recognize the feeling as his own. There was no winning now and no reason to hesitate. He took a breath and struck, planting his foot hard against the floor and spinning down to one knee, rocking the floor with a thunderous earth moving jutsu of the sort that always reminded him of Sakura.

The smooth wood of the floor buckled and cracked, forced upwards in jagged spears by the rumbling soil beneath the foundation. Neji pulled deep and thrust his hands against the floor again, his energy rippling through the layers of wood, steel and cement to the responsive rock beneath just as the steel anchor on his chain creaked in its moorings. He pulled and the earth rose, shaking the supports of the entire building portentously. Bunta and the other soldiers snarled angrily as their formation shattered against the onslaught. They were not prepared for earth jutsu because that was not one of the clan techniques and several of his attackers lost their footing completely. Neji felt a savage sneer stretch the skin of his face.

"Fool! You'll bring down the whole hall!" Someone snapped.

"Then it falls before burning." Neji whispered with a shrug, tugging experimentally on the shackle.

"You're still Hyuuga! You can't escape from who you are!" Bunta shouted.

"I'm nothing." Neji muttered and spun again, sending Sixty Four Palms towards them.

Instead of targeting individual chakra points as he would with a single opponent, Neji chose an entire body for each of his marks, sending eight palms against each soldier as the glowing green yinyang of the technique blazed against the ruined floor. The attack took a few breaths to gain momentum before the swirling strikes took on a rhythm of their own, but Sixty Four Palms was still shockingly effective in a closed space like the main reception chamber. Two of the masked nin shrieked as the pounding chakra currents generated by Neji's fists shattered their ribs, tossing them like discarded toys onto the still devastated floor. The wind generated by his movement howled and Neji cracked his fingers in preparation to repeat the attack as Bunta clutched his belly with a grunt, vomiting blood in a ruby spurt against his own mask. The alarming squeal of steel against cement was the only indication Neji needed as he turned and jerked his body to the side, tearing the long steel pin from the foundation of the floor as he moved with a shower of sparks.

He hissed and activated the Byukugan, studying the chakra of his attackers, three dying, one dead and four more still fighting with hidden, critical injuries. The nin pushed on, attacking stubbornly, throwing themselves against him in fresh surges of steel and desperation. These men would all die by his hand, and for what? For the sake of fulfilling an order they had no hope of carrying out anyway? Sacrificed for nothing because Hiashi never expected any resistance? There was something about the attack that rankled, something that simply would not fit into any kind of strategy he could imagine, a piece missing from the puzzle. Hiashi must have expected some kind of resistance and he knew that the only Hyuuga ninja with any hope of subduing him effectively was Hinata, who would never do anything to further his uncle's campaign against Naruto. Neji moved, swinging the pin on the chain up into his hand the way he would a chain scythe and jerking the improvised weapon into Bunta's face.

The older nin blocked, but barely, and a moment later Neji was on top of him, driving his fingers down like a spearhead for the vital convergence of the old veteran's chakra meridians with enough force to crush the bone as well as the energy. Another of the nin tackled him, catching Neji around the throat with a razor cord, but he'd already looped the chain of his shackle in a makeshift glove around his fingers to stave off the weapon. The cutting wire tightened, sawing hard against the metal where his fingers were placed to protect his throat, shedding sparks. Neji grunted and drove his elbow back into his attacker's unprotected belly only to strike unyielding steel, the impact sending an electric shock of rippling pain through the nerves in his forearm. He hissed, cursing his own stupidity. Of course they would be wearing armor.

The man took the opportunity to drive a knee hard into Neji's unprotected kidney, sending another surge of aching pain through his back and deeper, bruising the delicate tissues beneath the muscle. He coughed and dropped hard to his knees, sending the other ninja tumbling over his head and down with a resonating crack against the sharpened splinters of the once pristine flooring even as the other man spun, like a cat, in the air. Neji rose again, jerking the head of the heavy steel pin into his cousin's belly, the resonant crack of breaking bone vibrating through the weapon and into his hand with another nauseatingly deep wave of pain. The others chose that moment to strike, generating kage no bunshin to cling to his arms and legs.

"Hold him!" Someone shouted.

Neji spun, moving like a cyclone and letting the slack in the chain ripple out in deadly loops of suspended steel, beginning the gestures for gentle fist even as several of the clones evaporated in clouds of pale smoke. Someone jerked a tanto into his guard, grazing his ribs with the weapon, but the wound was superficial. Neji brought his fists up into a firm high guard and smashed into the next warm body he could find, pounding into the yielding flesh without even a breath of hesitation. He was so occupied with the swirling chaos, with the clones moving everywhere, that he missed the deep strike into the chakra meridian of his left thigh. He screamed, falling to one knee as the energy in his leg simply ceased, frozen with the aching agony of bruised nerves and a tourniquet pulled too tight. There was another attacker, someone he couldn't see with Byukugan! It didn't make sense!

"What a pity, my dear nephew, that you couldn't hold onto your loyalty." Hiashi's voice sighed.

"Impossible…" Neji breathed, searching madly for the chakra of his uncle and seeing nothing.

Finding it useless, Neji released the technique in favor of searching the murky shadows with his own, human vision. There was no one there. As he watched, dumbstruck, Hiashi melted from the air a few feet in front of him, a phantom suddenly taking solid form. He shook his head. There was nothing that could be hidden from Byukugan the way his uncle was, nothing! Even the most perfect kage no bunshin still looked like energy, still looked like something with the power of the visual technique, but it was as if his uncle had stepped out of another dimension entirely. Neji fought with renewed vigor as whatever it was that looked like Hiashi stalked towards him, slipping his arms loose from the hold the other nin had on his wrists. He shifted his stance, snapping his dead leg up into the groin of the soldier with the worst injuries. The man buckled with a scream, but hung onto the sleeve of his kimono stubbornly.

Cognizant of the changing threat, Neji fought, forming jutsu one handed, but Hiashi dodged the attack as neatly as a swimming viper and struck him again, this time in the throat. Neji coughed as his vision swam, the bruised energy channels harboring one of the most vital chakra centers in his body. His limbs shook, but the pain from the injury ebbed almost as soon as it came, slowly receding as his body healed with the same preternatural speed as it had in Naruto's forest. He struggled, breaking someone's wrist even as the clinging clones forced him to his knees. Hiashi stalked closer, surveying the destruction of the reception chamber with obvious distaste.

"This room has survived several all-out invasions, hundreds of years of warfare, and you decided to destroy it in a fit of temper. How childish…" Hiashi grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Naruto's going to burn it anyway. He's going to annihilate us all." Neji rasped, nearly breaking free for a single, maddening moment before the weight of the other nin pulled him down.

"Oh yes, he did make you strong didn't he?" Hiashi mused.

"What in the hell are you?!" Neji snarled, voice almost full again.

"You can speak to me that way already? My, my, very impressive indeed! How unfortunate you are so unwilling to use that strength for the glory of our clan." His uncle sighed, sounding genuinely disappointed.

"Genjutsu…" Neji hissed, narrowing his eyes.

"No, nephew. No illusion. I am myself, in the flesh." Hiashi offered, his tone cold.

"You aren't real, the Byukugan…!"

"I'm very real and there are things about the Byukugan that even you, my most talented pupil, don't know." Hiashi whispered, moving close, his silver eyes as chilly and ruthless as a shark's.

"No…"

"In fact, the one rallying my troops is actually just a clone for now. You are that important to our victory, Neji, vital. You are important enough that I came to you in person." Hiashi said, opening his hands pleadingly.

"Lies! You're just a trick and I won't hurt them! I WON'T!" Neji roared, pulling hard against the nin holding him.

"That isn't your decision. The only choice you have left is whether to serve me in life, of your own volition, or serve me with your death." Hiashi said softly, stroking a proprietary finger down Neji's face.

The touch was a sickening mockery of affection, possessive in the same the way someone might finger a favorite knife or kunai, and Neji felt a wave of disgust rise into his throat at the power-mad leer on his uncle's face. Hiashi dipped his fingers lower, trialing them along the edge of Neji's simple, cotton kimono. He struggled, only to have three sets of fingers simultaneously strike the chakra meridians in his shoulder, hip and jaw, numbing his body with a shocking wave of fresh pain. He grunted, the agony locking his jaw for an endless heartbeat before his body began to heal, the pain for both the torn tissues and the healing almost enough to make him swoon.

"You're powerless, Hiashi, and all your threats are meaningless. Nothing you do to me will save you…" Neji hissed between his tingling teeth.

Hiashi struck him and the blow felt more than solid enough to be real, snapping his neck back hard enough to crack the vertebra in his neck with enough force to ring through his skull. Blood spurted into his mouth as his lips caught on his teeth, but Neji laughed softly anyway. Hiashi's expression was stoically composed, but a dark flush of true fury colored his uncle's cheeks. He'd struck a nerve and a little insubordination was well worth the pain even if it only goaded Hiashi further.

"Tell me nephew, what exactly did you do for that foreign abomination to make him love you so much? What sorts of perversions did you learn, I wonder, that clouded your mind enough to choose that monster over me, your own family?" Hiashi asked, sneering.

"Real love…Nothing you could understand." Neji growled, licking delicately at the blood oozing from inside his cheek.

"You must have enjoyed being violated by him more than I thought! You always were such an excellent student, you probably mastered the oni's bed the same way you do anything else and it does make a person curious…" Hiashi whispered coldly, fingers stroking lower across Neji's chest.

"You're disgusting…" He gasped, jerking away from the touch.

"I'm disgusting? Me? ME!? I'm not a miserable little TRAITOR who forgot to whom he BELONGED!" Hiashi roared, face twisted in rage.

"I'd rather let him take me a thousand times, in a thousand ways, than take another breath to serve you…" Neji whispered triumphantly.

Hiashi struck him again and Neji laughed like a madman, letting the pain roll through his body like water, his injuries healing almost as soon as they were opened. The crackling boom of another explosion rumbled through the room, sending dust showering from the ornate, brass fixtures on the ceiling. The wrought metal creaked, the swirling designs distorted as the room groaned with the force of Naruto's attack. The sound of ringing metal and screams rose in a wave, chasing the noise of the concussion like an omen. Hiashi fumed, shoulders heaving even as the bruises on Neji's face faded. He healed, he didn't know why, but the ability only infuriated his uncle more and for now that was boon enough. Let Hiashi hit him, bait him, even rape him. Any threat the Hyuuga clan-head made had paper teeth. Nothing would change what was about to happen and soon all of them would be nothing more than a greasy smear in the ash of one of Sasuke's fires, wiped from the face of the world by Naruto's righteous anger.

"You INSIST on betraying me and punishment is ABSOLUTE!" Hiashi railed.

"Kill me then! That's the ONLY thing you can do! KILL ME! You can't stop him! Naruto's going to DESTROY you!" Neji shrieked, spitting a mouthful of blood into Hiashi's face.

"I think not, nephew. I think not. You will still serve me, no matter what you will or will not do…" Hiashi growled and moved to make the gesture for the curse-mark.

"What's more pain?" Neji chuckled, closing his eyes.

"I hope your wretched lovers feel the same way." Hiashi hissed and finished the jutsu with a final angry flourish.

Pain erupted in Neji's head, the shattering agony arching like a scalding needle through both of his eyes and deep, running back along the nerves like scorching lightning through a rain-soaked tree. He held on for a moment, fighting the pain for a breath, two, and then he was screaming. The torture pounded through his skull like a flood of liquid nitrogen, the icy pain sending shocking spears of stinging hurt into the bones of his face only to be chased by the hot, ripping agony of fresh wounds. The helpless pain of the mark was just as he remembered, as fresh and raw as torn flesh sliced anew with knives made of salt, terrible and completely inescapable. He screamed, his lungs forcing the sound out without any regard for will. The pain, however, was not what caught deep in Neji's chest and pulled like a platinum stitch against the tissue of his heart.

The pain was only a feeling, nothing, peripheral and meaningless, but the chorus of screaming echoing through his spirit was something else altogether. Neji screamed in horror as the realization struck him, that the voice wailing across the darkness of his mind was not his own. No the voices were those of his own, beloved mates. Naruto's voice cried out along with him, melding with Sasuke and Sakura and Neji knew, knew in a way too deep to be ignored, that they suffered along with him.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the those wronged will find rectitude and those who have sinned will be punished. The battle continues to rage and Hiashi still has cards left in his hand.

This missive is to inform all, both allies and neutral nations, that the hidden village of Glacier has been thoroughly destroyed. I have demolished everything in the region, every structure stands in ruins, and whatever territory the fallen kingdom once occupied is now the property of Suna. The cities of Glacier and its people have been wiped from the face of the Earth as punishment for the grave insult done upon me and my pack on multiple occasions. This is the result of my actions, alone, and the weight of the lives taken will be my own burden as well. My allies were not involved, nor were the people of Suna, and any retribution brought upon them shall also incur my considerable wrath. I do not apologize. To those who would take my mates or any who would dare lay hands upon the sacred body of my queen, know that I will not hesitate to commit such an atrocity again should my holdings be threatened. What was Glacier is now no more than scorched Earth and I have ensured as well that nothing shall ever dwell there again without my express permission. To those whose friends or relatives lived in Glacier, I assure you that they are no more and the slaves given with my gratitude to our allies in Wave are not the people whom they were before. Any effort organized to search out those lost will only bring you pain and incur the hostility of both my nation and that of Wave, a power which has again proven their sincerity and kindness to my house. This is not a statement of war, merely of fact, so that such confusion may be avoided in the future.

-Gaara, Kazekage of Suna, A Letter to Konohakagure

My friend, I know you will have many questions regarding my recent actions and the genocide I have committed against Glacier. Please know that I have no intentions to ever visit such a disaster upon Konoha or anyone else and that I truly regret ever raising my hand in such a way against an entire people. I know that doing so is against the principles we both share, but I had to ensure the safety of my family. What was done cannot be undone, so I hope you will accept what little resolution I have to give, which is only a statement of my affection and loyalty. I truly hope you never come to understand why I did this. I hope you will still be my friend.

-Gaara, Kazekage of Suna, A Personal Letter to Naruto Uzumaki

Gaara, I know you must have had your reasons, but jeez! How could you think that destroying an entire nation could ever be okay? You killed so many people! I don't want to even think about how many lives you've taken! You have to know that most of the people in Glacier had to be uninvolved with whatever it was that was done to you, that there were noncombatants in there, and yet you just Never mind all of that. You already know that. My village has been at war for almost the entirety or my lifetime and I know what it means to eliminate a threat, what it means to have peace with a single, decisive move. I hope that's what you've achieved and I hope it's worth the sacrifice. I'll always by your friend, you idiot, no matter what. Never do anything like this again. Seriously. Never.

-Naruto Uzumaki, Genin of Konoha, A Personal Letter to Gaara of Suna

Sasuke dove, heedless of everything, moving like a bullet. The killer launched from his feet, surging through the air like a hunting falcon in sight of a mouse, throwing himself between Hiashi and Naruto before the ringing pain could cripple him too badly to engage. The deep, quivering hurt of shattered bones was already rattling him, threatening to pull him under with the weight of Naruto's injuries and damage them both. The only option was to move faster, faster than thought, faster than the searing agony heaving through the thrall. The icy gusts and whipping ripples of what was, what should have been Rasengan, swept the air into squealing flurries, flinging his hair in stinging lashes against his cheek. Everything was slow, the moment frozen, the shattering crunch of Naruto's chest like the deepest tone of a temple bell, ringing in the air for an eternity before Sasuke could even touch him. He reached for his alpha as Naruto fell, the shocked blue of the jinchuuriki's eyes wide and incredulous above his tactical mask, blood seeping through the black Kevlar to drip into the gore already splashing beneath their feet. Sasuke reached, felt Naruto's body shift against his fingers as sudden, solid, heaviness, falling against his chest in an instant of panicked trembling before his core engaged and he was able to accommodate the other man's weight.

Even holding him, cradling Naruto close in his arms, Sasuke's spirit was buckling, madness biting at the seams in his psyche as the kitsune's eyes slid closed with an agonized wheeze. Naruto, he was hurt. He was hurt very, very badly even for a nearly-immortal fey creature who could command the elements. The shocking heat of his blood was soaking Sasuke's clothes, so much blood, more than the blond had ever bled before…too much…too much. Shit. He had to focus, find a way to shut out the pain, the suffocating ache of lungs torn to pieces and not enough air. Naruto gasped, tried to cough, spraying Sasuke with his blood and for once the ruby redness of it was not sexy, not even a little, not pretty or fascinating or anything other than just horrible.

His belly hitched, arms shaking, but he didn't let go. Seeing Naruto fall and bleed was so awful thateven the Seal was dumbstruck, the monster inside suddenly small and trembling with fright, startled by the very thought that Naruto could be dying because…because he was the only quiet place and he'd always been there before. For almost an entire heartbeat, Sasuke held him and simply stared, trying to close his mind to the pain and terror of his alpha drowning in his own lungs.

The bite of sharpened steel into the armored plates protecting his shoulder was no more a surprise than the schlinking hiss of Hiashi's chain against the icy flagstones, but it roused him, brought him back into reality. The scythe crunched through his shoulder guard, scratching sharply against his skin. Sasuke lurched a little as the weapon pulled, tugging deeper still, striking shallowly into the flesh beneath the armor, the pain so refreshingly ice-cold real and so unmistakably his own that he almost shivered. He let Naruto slide through his grip, resting him gently on the ground, brushing clothed lips over the kitsune's closed eyelids in the briefest kind of kiss.

"Sasuke Uchiha," Hiashi said, sneering, "You're in my way."

Hiashi jerked the blade still lodged in his armor, shaking him, but not enough to pull the dark haired killer off balance. Let the scythe cut him, Sasuke didn't care, the metal in his flesh was only a weapon and not the kind that could do any lasting damage to his body. Naruto protected him. He was truly invincible. He took a breath and moved, spinning, winding the chain of the scythe willingly around his own knees to pull Hiashi close.

"Come…" Sasuke hissed as he grabbed hold of the blade and tugged, putting another twist in the chain as the Hyuuga let out more slack to loosen it.

"I'll kill you both!" Hiashi roared trying to both regain his stance and his weapon as Sasuke advanced. Too little and too late.

"Come, die…" Sasuke purred, cocking his head and smiling as the chain pulled taught with a shivering jerk and the groan of ice-cold metal.

Hiashi snarled and moved to block, but Sasuke was already inside his defenses and moving to strike, falling to his knees as he jerked the Hyuuga leader off balance. Feet scrambling for purchase on the gore slickened stones, but already committed, Hiashi finally realized the danger and tried to pull away. Too late, he was already dead and Sasuke barely kept himself from laughing aloud at the sudden shock in the other nin's eyes. The chain wound about Hiashi's hands pulled him into Sasuke's clutches just as surely as the scythe's blade in his shoulder bound him to the Hyuuga in turn, the classic danger of all chained weapons. Without hesitating, Sasuke slithered forward, naked blade clutched tight against his own wrist in a defensive grip. He slashed low for the unguarded tendons in Hiashi's knees and then surged up to bury the weapon in the other man's eye, the battle rage and the adrenaline of victory singing in his veins just as surely as the pain from Naruto's wounds.

However, the sensation moving through Sasuke's blade and into his waiting hand was not the satisfying crunch of bone or the sinuous ripping of tearing tissues, but a sudden and shocking emptiness. Sasuke hissed, willing his senses to be false, clouded by pain or impaired by Naruto's struggle to breathe, but, as he pushed, the void only grew. There was no way, no way, that an opponent with enough skill to hurt Naruto was a clone! And yet, he could not ignore the feeling of his blade bit deep…into nothing.

"No…shit! No! NO!" Sasuke snarled slashing forward even as Hiashi's figure blurred and began to dissipate.

Without a sound, neither a gurgle nor a shriek, Hiashi's body evaporated into a heavy cloud of shadowy smoke and, with another breath, even that too was gone. Sasuke's jaw shook, the pain from his alpha's torn chest suddenly far closer and more pronounced than before. He was smeared with blood, only some of it his own, shivering as the adrenaline crested, but Sasuke could not rest. Hiashi was still alive. The specter had only been a kage no bunshin, a clone, another fucking deception in this arcade of treachery and horrors. He swayed, falling back into the heavy coils of the chain scythe with a metallic clink that seemed much too loud, shaking his head as the smoke of the battle-field mingled with the heavy, white plumes of his own breathing. The snowy air was still crowded with the sounds of people dying and things burning, too much noise to make any sense of, but Sasuke heard the ragged wheeze of Naruto's chest re-inflating almost as clearly as his own heartbeat. The jinchuuriki was healing and he would live for now, but they'd failed so what did it matter? Sasuke almost felt like sobbing.

"Teme…?" Naruto whispered, the hope and expectation carried in those few soft words dragging through Sasuke's bones. He bit his lip.

"A clone…" He whispered.

"What?" Naruto rasped, dragging himself closer.

"It…it was a clone. Hiashi lives." Sasuke said, his throat aching to make the words louder.

"Kami!" Naruto wheezed and then they felt it.

Like a shard of ice-cold lightning driven directly into their eyes, the pain piercing and burning its way back into the deepest part of their skulls. Sasuke screamed, the sound pure, unfettered agony, blending seamlessly with Naruto's own tormented wail. Lights of a thousand colors and each a new kind of torture erupted in front of Sasuke's eyes, flashing like a sickening carnival display. The pain was like nothing either of them had ever experienced, a new sensation, a ringing agony both sharp and profound without even the promise of death as an escape. There was no darkness at the edges, only searing light, an electric quaking that drove everything else into shocked numbness. Sasuke knew, knew somewhere outside himself where his mind wasn't locked into a grinding spasm and he could still think, that the only jutsu powerful enough to compel such terrible suffering was the Hyuuga Curse Mark. The Curse was in the thrall, but how…it could only be because Neji was in the thrall as well! Neji was claimed, claimed completely and…Kami, how had he missed it?!

"Neji!" He screamed, reaching out into the swirling vortex of dancing lights.

"Nejiiii!" Naruto wailed, echoing him.

Sasuke'd belly bucked, driven by the pounding misery, an ache almost numbed by the twisting shards of the chipping, cracking, searing pain in his head. The Curse Mark was like nothing else, a sting beyond anything the human mind could bear and even Naruto, his island in the storm, the unstoppable jinchuuriki for Kyuubi, even Naruto, was beginning to give against the onslaught.

Sasuke felt the slip, like a loss of footing on ice, and then he was suddenly alone despite the jinchuuriki's presence in his psyche. His alpha's spirit was unnaturally motionless against his mind, any intention absent. Sasuke shrieked. At his side, almost touching, Naruto was convulsing, his thoughts and feelings and memories halted, paralyzed by the seizure and inexplicably static. The warm currents of the blond's love now felt like a frozen ocean within the thrall. Sasuke screamed, reaching for him where he writhed on the ground in the bruising coils of the chain scythe, pins and needles in his fingers against the blood soaked cloth of Naruto's mask.

Sasuke pushed into his own mind, only managing to avoid a similar fate by the barest margin as his pressed his psyche against the questionable sanctuary of his master's Seal to touch the evil caged within. The Seal was cold and raw, but it was also calm and distinctly separate from the rest of the excruciating pain. The monster snarled, but the sound was one of fear instead of rage, ragged and strange. Sasuke wondered idly if the thing had ever felt afraid before today, surprised on some level that the Seal even had the capacity for emotion beyond hatred, but he was frightened too. His flesh and spirit were no longer under anything like his own control and Naruto was no better, splashing in the bloody snow melt like a fish on a hook. He wanted to be sick, but his throat was too tight. There should be, if not an end, than at least a valley, but the sizzling torture continued unabated. Sasuke felt his body jerk and squeal, but even worse was the sensation of hands against him, lifting, dragging as the pain cut deeper gouges into his sanity.

They were moving them, taking them, taking Naruto away from his reach and something about that was nearly enough to shatter what little mental reserve Sasuke had. How dare they touch him?! How dare they lay hands upon his…his alpha! The rough grip against his shoulder, bruising him and wrenching the scythe out of his flesh felt distant, and he fought, but his limbs were so weak. Sasuke had never been weak this way before. He felt vulnerable and helpless and…and violated because Hiashi was touching them, touching his lovers and even Naruto in their minds, touching through the thrall in a way that no one ever had before and no one ever should. When the next seizure finally reached him and stopped everything, stopped thought and any kind of feeling, it was almost a relief.

OoOoOoO

Deep in the cold, he felt the pain. It reached, sharp and too bright to ignore into the quelling weight of the darkness, prickling and insistent. Someone was touching them deep and intimately, someone whose touch was not wanted or invited or permitted, sliding and slithering against things which were his alone. A ripple in the blackness, an itch against the cocoon of his dormant energy, something moved through his awareness. The sensation of it riled him. Those, the others who drifted in the warmer currents above, they belonged only to him. They were his only living place, the only warmth or true solace, and they cried out for reprieve. The love called too, the echoes of pleasure a dull, blue veil over his roiling memories, the feelings still raw and far too intense to confront.

The irritation began to build, low and gradual as thunder over desolate mountains, an instinctive anger that awoke a rumbling in his very bones. The hurt stung and his mind slowly rose, drifting away from the blessed slumber and back to awareness. There was poison in his sky, dulling the blue, and there was oil in his ocean, filthy on the emerald waves of her feelings. Broken chains rattled in the dark, but there was light too, seeping in burning rays into his own inky coldness, bright and unwanted beneath the heaving waters. The others wailed out into the void and he felt them as well, the fire and the steel both shattering with it, the echoes of pleasure silenced in favor of screaming. That was unacceptable. He would not allow it.

In dormant places within his numbed spirit, the aggression rose and bloomed, heating the lapping waves of black amnesia, boiling and agitated and no longer heavy. The chains were gone and the torment of hurts long buried was very true, very real, but…they needed him so he would have to endure it. His body felt the need as acutely as his mind felt the pain and low in the icy silence of his own solitude, the creature slowly willed his form to change as it had only once before. He pressed, slowly waking, the softness of dreams and forgetfulness slowly falling away to be replaced by the threatening din of his uncaged soul. The one in darkness stirred, shifting, the sodden weight of rain soaked soil clinging against his face even as his muzzle began to grow long and fill with sharpened teeth, body expanding to hold the weight of too many memories. He would wake in spite of the throbbing emotion, convert it all into rage, and ignite the shadowy ocean of feeling as fuel for his vengeance.

He grew, the earth pressing close, energy flaring in arching rays of electric blue light to illuminate the solemn characters of the other grave markers, the names of Uchiha clan long, long dead flickering eerily. The polished headstones, as fine as mirrors, flickered blue with the fires of his chi as the earth slowly began to rumble around his expanding flesh, chasms opening, the ancient foundations of the temple groaning as he moved. He shifted, snarling, and felt the rage build to consume all other feeling like dry wood on a bonfire. The balmy fullness Naruto had left in his body was poisoned with the unwelcome pain of the other, the love almost silenced by the sizzling agony in the thrall, so he grew to make more room.

Blue light surged, filling every space, bright as lightning in the summer skt. The emotion boiled, overwhelming, and he grew to accommodate it. No one could take Naruto from him, nor any of the others lodged inside his spirit. The creature held the love kindled in his heart and all else he fed to the unholy anger slowly morphing his flesh, letting his body reflect his soul instead of caging it, matching wave for wave the violence roiling inside. His vision was still clouded, his eye unused, but the blue flames raced over every surface and set the solemnity of the temple alight so that he could almost feel the world through the touch of chakra alone.

There was light everywhere, sapphire brilliance brighter than a star, driving back the electric invasion threatening to damage the delicate passages of his mind. He breathed and let the chakra move, let it grow, the blue spreading outside his own form like ripples in a pond with each exhalation. The azure radiance spread, glowing like coals beneath the snowy ground, branching fingers of electric power lighting the night and charging the air. He moved, turning over, the filmy funeral clothes shredding around him like so much paper. For a moment he shivered, nude, and in the next heartbeat thick fur pushed through his skin like countless knives. He screamed. The sting of it was almost blinding, but his coat was soon thick, plush and more than adequate against the cold in the quaking shrine, the hurt forgotten as his muscles bunched and gathered. His shoulders itched, cracked, shifted, making way for the vast wings, still pressed close about his body in the rapidly shrinking space of the once-comfortable grave.

The creature wrapped the thick membranes of his new wings, soaked blue with the rising energy, close around his own belly, writhing like an eel beneath the ground, digging, gasping, thrusting up to be born again through the stiff soil of his own resting place. He heard the pained wailing, felt the fear in the thrall and growled, heedless of the tumbling grave markers and crumbling walls as the noise resounded through the snowy air to shake the forest beyond. The trees were alight with blue, glowing like torches against the crimson fires reflected in the lilac sky, the veins and vessels of their life flow illuminated by the writhing azure energies.

The claws spread from his fingers, piercing the frozen earth, stretching his bones with creaking splinters of tearing pain almost lost in the roaring turmoil of too much, too much emotion! The blue light jumped and surged like water overflowing a river, filling the cracks between every tile, every grain of soil, glowing brilliantly enough to light the still falling snow in cosmic splendor. The change hurt, ached, burned, but the agony of it was inexorable, like the will to breathe, impossible to stop. His bones shifted as his energy pulsed and beat against the ground, shaking the earth. Snow fell from the quivering trees and the pines shook to their roots as he moved, thrusting a still changing hand upwards, claws shedding sparks against the granite roof of his tomb. The stone shook a moment, resisted with a straining squeal, and then shattered with a sharp crack, releasing his still morphing body, swathed in the piercing blue of his own rising chi.

Finally free of the clinging Earth, the demon took a breath and roared, the sound driving the snow back in a rocking concussion of air. The pines shook, shivered, snow blown from their branches by the force of the noise. With a hissing snarl, Sai unfurled his wings; the movement of the massive membranes stirring the snow into swirling flurries of panicked air. He stretched, vertebrae cracking into place, the pulsing lapis of his energy settling into swirling markings across the dark, softness of his new pelt. There was blood on the wind and the scent of it set his long, bladed tail lashing of its own accordout into the freedom of the open air. Far to the east, fire sparked and bloomed red as molten steel into the sky. He turned towards the explosion, drawn to the sounds of battle, belly aching with the pain of the others.

"Naruto…" He whispered, the name pressed out into the bleeding night like a psalm.

He shivered. The rush of memories, each attached to an emotion he'd forgotten thrummed within, but he could not allow it to overwhelm him, not now, not yet…not yet. The alien pain within the thrall squeezed around his heart, striking with the force of spearheads against his brain, but Sai could still hold the agony which froze the others out of his awareness. He loved the kitsune and they were one as much as two beings of their kind could be, but Sai was still master of his own mind and the curse which crippled the others only served to ignite his rage. He was thirsty for blood, fur raised over his spine in threat, long ears pressed tight to his skull and claws crushing the frozen stone of the shrine as he scented the air. The heavy odor of smoke and terror drifted to him along with the unmistakable scent of his lovers, the female close and shivering, but the scent of others too sharp with panic for him to ignore. He hissed, shaking the last pieces of tile and stone from his coat before flapping once, twice and leaping into the air. The night was cold and filled with snow, but he barely felt it. Sai was already moving, racing toward the rising glow with enough fury to singe the world.

OoOoOoO

Hiashi laughed and knew that he should stop, that the sound was beginning to come from a deeper and more frightening place than mere mirth or even the giddy rush of victory; knew that he was beginning to sound a little mad, but it was so hard to hold the sound in anymore. Too much time and too much tension and his patience had finally been rewarded! He laughed as his impudent nephew writhed in front of him, twitching and shrieking in agony, his punishment bringing a swift rush of pure vindication to the Hyuuga leader. The boy had grown far too rebellious in Naruto's bed, much too defiant to be an effective operative at any rate, and demonstrating his power over Neji soothed Hiashi's raw nerves in a way almost akin to the soft euphoria of good narcotics. Not to mention the rest of his triumph…

Watching Neji suffer was satisfying, but having the others, having Naruto thrown in a bloody heap at his feet was more than worth the lives lost, worth every life he had to command and a hundred more besides! The demon-spawn of his arch-rival and the commoner thorn in his gut was finally within his grasp! Having Naruto's pack as his helpless captives, half-mad with the pain and toothless as kittens, unable to defy him, was almost as good as having Kushina herself as his own. Yes, the barbarian brat was finally his to do away with and this time Minato was far too dead to interfere.

Hiashi grinned, still giggling. A few short days ago he'd thought the battle might be lost, thought that Minato's dirty-blooded offspring might have truly bested him. Now, with both the oni and his pet murderer within his clutches and rendered helpless by the Curse Mark, the only task left was deciding how long to keep them breathing for the sake of watching them squirm. He really should have killed them already, but a moment such as this one was made to be savored, something special that happened only once in a lifetime.

Just as Hiashi planned, as he'd hoped from the very beginning, the thrall carried the Curse Mark to every person compelled by the little monster and the demon pack was completely undone by a mere gesture of his hand. In Neji, he'd planted the seed of their destruction. True, there had been a risk. Hiashi might have lost his best warrior to Naruto by giving his nephew to him for the sake of information and he might have even been forced to repeat Madara's tired old scheme without any additional card to play other than sheer force of numbers. However, his plan was built on more than just the insinuation that the Curse Mark could incapacitate Naruto, and the intelligence provided by Neji was instrumental in their fall. One can't kill a god without taking a few risks. Like all good intrigue, the fall of House Uzumaki was a game played using many, well-oiled little pieces working in concert under his skilled fingers. He hoped Madara was laughing too in whatever blackened corner of hell the old vampire was in.

"Can you even hear me, bastard spawn?" Hiashi whispered, dragging his fingers through Naruto's thick blond hair and gripping tight to lift his head.

"Can…hear…tch…don't care…Ugh…" The jinchuuriki managed, jaw locked tight in agony, eyes glaring pure, blue hatred at him.

Hiashi found the expression so shockingly funny that he almost kept cackling, but stifled the mirth in favor of fondling the jinchuuriki instead, enjoying the blood-soaked texture of the brat's hair. Naruto's sunshine locks were almost like the thick silk of his woman's mane, but a bit coarser than Kushina's, more like an animal's pelt than real hair. He wondered idly what it would look like long, clean and spread over his pillow with those hot, furious eyes glaring helplessly up at him…he shivered at the thought.

"Almost a pity to kill you. Now, that I can subjugate you so easily, there are so many other options to explore…" He murmured, almost to himself, stroking an idle thumb down Naruto's cheek.

"I'll…kill you…believe it!" Naruto snarled.

"Oh? What's keeping you then?" Hiashi chuckled.

By Kami! There was something very appealing about an enemy still alive and yet so completely powerless, especially when the man in question should have been his all along, his son, his weapon… The situation was far more intoxicating than he thought it would be. Naruto's blue eye glowed for a bare moment with vehemence and demon chakra before the jinchuuriki cried out like wind whistling over the cliffs and began to seize again, body flopping jerkily on the floor. Neji screamed and the sound was filled with both pain and sorrow, holding his head with one hand and reaching towards the blond with the other.

Hiashi sighed; best to enjoy the moment while he could. Even with the strongest minds and the best training, no one ever lasted long against the Mark and the demon and his whores were nearly finished as it was. He supposed he could always release the jutsu and then activate it again, there was no real limit for how frequently the Mark could be used…He smiled and reached for Naruto again as the jinchuuriki lay panting and spent from the attack, pushing his fingers back into that uncanny, foreign hair.

"Get your…hands…off him…fucking pervert!" Sasuke hissed, looking every bit the black devil of his fearsome reputation, smeared in gore and ashes with those red, sharingan eyes burning.

"What would you do about it, little viper? If I touch him?" Hiashi purred, relishing in the impotent rage in Sasuke's savage face.

"More…than you…can imagine…!" Sasuke gasped, fingers frozen into spasming claws against the ruined wood of the floor, trying to resist a seizure of his own.

"Whatever purpose you served was exhausted long ago and I have no interest in keeping you alive as anything more than a hostage against your Master's good behavior. That role, however, can be filled by another…or I can just kill you all." Hiashi mused, driving a kunai through the hand Sasuke still managed to keep pressed against Naruto's shoulder.

The delicate bones crunched against the blade, blood gushing from the wound in generous, red spurts into the chilly air. The black haired killer screamed, teeth chattering, clinging to Naruto's armor stubbornly despite the injury. He had enough will that Hiashi was passingly impressed. If there was a person, he supposed, who understood pain well enough to resist the Mark to any degree, that man would surely be Sasuke Uchiha. His ancestors would be impressed, but determination alone was useless against the Curse Mark, though watching them all try was almost worth the annoyance of keeping the Uchiha alive. Almost. Hiashi sneered and jerked the knife from Sasuke's hand to slice off Naruto's mask instead, baring the jinchuuriki's shuddering face, the insult of it enough to make Sasuke scream again.

"Stop…" Neji pleaded, barely audible between screams of his own.

"You can still speak?" Hiashi quipped, nudging Neji roughly with his foot, "Too bad you don't have anything useful to say, nephew. The time for that is long passed."

Poor Neji. The boy was tough, the finest his clan had produced in a long time, but all the talent in the world wasn't worth a weapon gone rogue. Neji's usefulness now resided in his ability to control Naruto, to carry the Mark into his chakra, and that was something even a drooling idiot could do. A pity, perhaps, but life was full of little tragedies.

"I…I said too…too much…" Neji whimpered, shuddering as he tried to resist the urge to kill himself.

"Leave him…Fucking coward." Sasuke spat, looking a tad too fierce for Hiashi's peace of mind.

The Hyuuga leader strode forward to seize Sasuke by the hair, jerking his neck and forcing the boy's sneering face up to meet his own. The Hyuuga leader looked at him, studying the focus in his eyes and the tension in his muscles. In the long minutes since the Uzumaki invaders were laid at his feet, he hadn't seen Sasuke suffer a seizure, not once, and that was too peculiar, even for an oddity of probability. The vile, black haired snake was resisting, or maybe not quite that, but evading part of the Mark's influence and that was not something he should be able to do.

"Oh, to be sure. My own little traitor will be the very last to die," Hiashi promised, ignoring the looks his few remaining soldiers traded, "But I think I'll keep your alpha a while longer. He might even make a lovely toy."

"Please…no…" Neji pleaded, but Hiashi barely heard him.

"You…bastard!" Sasuke snarled, voice dry and pained, but too strong for anyone suffering the Curse Mark.

"Yes, maybe I'll keep him, but you're just a nuisance and one that's cost me far too many men. The Uchiha clan ends tonight, for good, and the same for your wretched woman!" Hiashi promised darkly, drawing the kunai tight against Sasuke's trembling throat.

"No…!" Naruto shrieked, weakly thrusting himself between Hiashi and Sasuke.

There was a low, rumbling growl and the building shook like a wicker shack in an earthquake, throwing everyone from their feet and against the jagged wood of the floor as the deafening sound of splintering support beams filled the air. Hiashi lost his balance, flailing briefly before riding the bucking ground smoothly in a low crouch, watching as Naruto used the motion to pull Neji and Sasuke against his own body. Outside, something roared into the night, the sound too loud to be jutsu and too close to be an explosion, the noise more like the vicious, territorial bellow of some kind of animal. Either Naruto had more monsters under his command than he'd originally thought, or Kiba had managed to create some new combined perversion with his dog. Hiashi narrowed his eyes. Either way, his revenge would, apparently, have to wait a while longer.

OoOoOoO

Neji had long ago abandoned sight as a source for any kind of useful information, his vision alternating between blurred, dim and excruciatingly bright, completely overtaken by the rocking pain of the Mark. His ears were singing too, bells and whistles and the screech of random neurons firing without organization, but he could still heard through it. Hear enough to know his uncle was planning to kill them starting with Sasuke…that he might even be considering doing something truly sick to Naruto. Neji would not allow it. That anyone should touch Naruto; that anyone should touch his lovers, was unacceptable to something elemental in his spirit. He had to do something.

Neji groaned around a fresh surge of pain as the floor roiled sickeningly under his belly, bucking like an angry horse as the main supports of the building buckled and snapped. The roof was falling, torn asunder by something big and seriously pissed off up above them. He could feel Naruto's arm around his torso, holding him close even as the building lurched and groaned. The jinchuuriki held him, screaming like a fox caught in a snare as the Mark hurt him, the sound like shattering glass in Neji's aching ears. Kami, Neji wanted to do more than just cling to him. Neji grit his teeth trying to at least think through the agony. His brain was struggling, his cognition slowed and his awareness fractured, but the one fact that he managed to cling to was that if Naruto and Sasuke were affected then it meant he was compelled by the thrall. He was under the thrall…which meant that everything about him should be under Naruto's command.

"Sasuke!" He whimpered, searching blindly for the other man, hand falling against the raven's tear streaked face mostly by chance.

"Neji…ah…! Hang…on!" Sasuke shouted, voice rough with pain, but far clearer than Neji could have hoped.

"The…ah…the thrall…use…" He choked, the words caught in his closed throat.

The sharp tang of metal filled his mouth and Neji's very heart quivered with the knowledge that he was about to have another seizure, another consuming episode of perfect blankness. He gripped Sasuke, hand cupped weirdly around the raven's face, trying to will him to understand what he was trying to convey. If he just managed enough room around the torture in his own mind to think about it, Sasuke would surely come to the same conclusion he had, but they were running out of time. Neji was certain that, by now, the damage was at least permanent for him and Hiashi could kill any of them any moment he chose. The idea of death and an end to the electrifying pain of the Curse Mark was almost promising enough to make him weep, but Neji couldn't escape yet. He had to save them. He had to save his family.

OoOoOoO

A few moments before.

"What the fuck is that thing!" Yumi cried, eyes wide and skin taut with the strain of the Byukugan.

"It's not a Hyuuga…erm…uh…creation?" Kiba asked, trying to make his voice calm and authoritative above booming din of the monster's wings.

"No! Not ours!" Aki replied, gripping the tree for dear life as the wind from the creature's passage rocked them.

The air from its wings moved through the forest like one of Naruto's cyclones, bending the trees and stirring the snow into blinding waves with each gargantuan beat, turning the forest into a swirling mess of pine needles and shrieking air. Akamaru pressed his belly to the ground on the forest floor below them, whining low under his breath as the surging gale crested and passed, replaced by a sucking vortex as the monster launched itself forward. Aki and Yumi yelped as their hair was blown straight upward away from their faces, eyes wide in the grim light of Sasuke's fires. Kiba gripped the tree trunk hard, but kept his eyes open stubbornly. There was something about the massive creature in the sky, something that he couldn't quite describe, but that felt…familiar.

"Demon!" Someone shouted and Kiba grit his teeth.

"Don't jumpt to conclusions! Just keep lookin' dammit! I wanna know what it is, not just what you think it is!" He snapped, gratified despite himself as the boys jumped to his command.

"Hai!" They shouted in unison, moving smoothly to change positions, moving higher in the tree so that more soldiers could activate the Byukugan.

"What does its energy look like?" The Dog-Lord asked, watching as the dark beast dove towards the roaring fires in the Hyuuga compound.

"Not like anything I've ever seen, the chakra seems…weird…" Yumi said, shaking his head.

"Weird how?"

"I don't know how to describe it, the energy looks…flexible somehow, like the form isn't quite made of matter…" The boy cried.

"That's not possible though." Aki hissed.

Kiba pressed his lips together anxiously. He was not about to insist that something like matter or energy cleaved to the rules of anything commonly thought of as possible, but he did want to know whose side the winged predator was on. Kiba had no idea where the gigantic beast came from or, perhaps more importantly, what it even was, but the sinuous animal clearly had an agenda. Shaped like a shockingly harmonious cross between a fox and a stoat, the creature flew on vast bat-like wings and used a long, silky-looking tail armed with several keen blades to cut through anything in its path. The monster moved towards the Hyuuga clan house as if drawn by a magnet, as if it were being called somehow. Kiba wanted to know how and by whom and why because if anything could turn the tides of battle, a mysterious, airborne, semi-matter monstrosity certainly counted for something.

"Track it!" He barked to Aki, who still clung to the branch a few feet above his own perch.

"Hai!" the boy shouted, eyes fixed to the rapidly diminishing point in the sky.

Kiba knew what Naruto's activated form looked like and despite the fact that it was huge, flamey and scary as hell, the kitsune in his fully awakened body did not fly. No, that thing was something else, something he'd never seen or even read about. The creature's coat was mostly black, but decorated with eerie, bright blue markings, which flared and thrummed to some unseen rhythm almost as if lit from within. He watched the blue glow as it wheeled and dove against the murky sky.

"It's diving!" Aki reported, "I think it's headed for the main house!"

"Can you tell who's in there?"

"I...I can't be sure." The boy wavered.

"Then guess dammit!" Kiba barked.

"Looks like Naruto and probably Sasuke, Neji too, but it's like they're all lying on top of each other or something. I see another signature, but…whatever it is looks almost like a…hole…" Aki said, voice uncertain.

"It's Hiashi." A soft, feminine voice said from beneath them and Kiba felt his heart nearly skip a beat.

"Hinata?" He asked softly, barely hoping, peering down through the inky darkness of the nighttime forest.

Kami! Kiba had never wanted to use the Byukugan as much as he did now! Even though he knew his awareness of time was skewed, even though what felt like hours was probably only a few, sparse minutes, he'd been so afraid. Only by throwing all his focus towards the task at hand had Kiba managed to avoid giving into true panic. He wanted to see her, hold her, to smell her skin and assure himself that his beloved wife was really there.

"It's alright, my husband, I'm here." The Hyuuga princess said, leaping up to rest beside him in the wide crotch of the ancient tree.

Oh, she was so beautiful! She was more beautiful than his memory, so lovely that just seeing her almost made him ache, stunning enough to still the breath in his lungs even with her face streaked with ashes and her eyes deep and full with sadness. He reached for her, running a shaking finger down the side of her perfect, heart shaped face. She caught his hand in her own, pressing his palm to her cheek, the silken caress of her black hair sliding over his forearm, and for a moment Kiba could only stare. They breathed, the roaring destruction of the world silenced for the briefest moment as he gazed into the shifting silver of her eyes. To think that the color might have been lost, that he might have never been able to see her again, to look into her eyes and wonder what she saw in their world…he shuddered.

"I…I knew you would be alright. I knew you'd make it, I didn't doubt it…" He whispered, stroking her face fondly.

"Then…why are you crying?" Hinata asked gently, reaching forward to dip her delicate fingers into the moisture on his face.

"Oh Kami, woman! I don't know!" He laughed, tears streaming down his face, hot in the icy air.

With a yelp of pure joy, Kiba darted forward to embrace her, burying his nose in the sleek warmth of her hair, clinging helplessly to her hands. The heat of her body was like soothing balm to his soul, the familiar press of every soft curve even sweeter than before, more delicious than even the most charming memory. Her breasts were bigger, the soft weight of the flesh succulently heavy against his chest and, ah, what he wouldn't give to simply have her right now! His hand crept lower, resting against the subtle swell of her belly, almost afraid to ask.

"Are…are we all okay?" He whispered.

Hinata smiled, resting her own hand over his, a bit of moisture creeping into the limpid pools of her silver eyes as well. Kiba knew that the timing wasn't right, that it was far too early, but he almost felt as though the little pups inside were reaching to him, pressing through her belly against their father's palm. The relief almost made him light-headed, almost made him too giddy, even though the future was still uncertain and whether or not any of them would even survive the night was up to powers far beyond his control.

"We are all fine, for now." Hinata replied, her soft voice all the same firm. Kiba smiled and kissed her.

"Kiiiibbbbaaaa! Are you and Sissy done yet!" Hanabi's voice whined from the branches beneath them.

"Uh, well no, but is there something you need?" Kiba fumbled, blushing as he tried to regain an ounce of dignity after practically ravishing his wife in front of her kid sister and his under-age soldiers.

"No, but maybe you need the information we have." Hanabi huffed, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, um yes…" Kiba said, blushing.

"That hole in the Byukugan you see, the place where there is no chakra at all, it's a technique called 'Ultimate Shadow Mask Veil' and it's something only Hyuuga main house members groomed for rule ever learn. It can hide a person so that even the Byukugan can't see them, basically utilizing a pocket dimension so that the person physically ceases to exist on this plain." Hinata muttered, sounding stressed.

"I've never even heard of such a thing! Nothing can be hidden from the Byukugan!" Aki exclaimed.

"That's because it's such a closely kept secret. Even now, only I know it, Hanabi wasn't taught yet. The technique is reserved only for grave emergencies and is very difficult to perform even under the best of circumstances. Hiashi is probably using it to try to maneuver Naruto into a trap, likely distracting him with a very carefully made kage no bunshin." Hinata explained, not bothering to release the fur of Kiba's vestments from her grasp.

"Do you think it will work?" Kiba asked softly, looking out towards the sullen, crimson glow of too many fires burning into the muffled darkness of the snowy night.

"Probably not." Hanabi said, crossing her arms.

"Why not?" Yumi asked from above, ignoring the shocked look on the younger Hyuuga princesses face as he spoke out of turn.

"Because Naruto has Sasuke and the Sharingan isn't bound by the same special limitations as the Byukugan. No matter what he does, Sasuke will see him or rather the rift in space he leaves behind and as soon as whatever clones he's made are vanquished, they'll keep looking for him." Hinata whispered.

"Then what's the purpose of it?" Kiba asked, feeling confused.

"I'm not sure, but Father is very good at plotting." Hanabi said, a bit sadly.

"Either way, we must be prepared to either parlay with Naruto or leave at a moment's notice. Regardless of whether or not Hiashi can win against him, none of us will be safe for long." Hinata said urgently, tugging on Kiba's coat.

"Understood. Granny is already prepared for a siege." Kiba said proudly, gesturing to his soldiers.

"Pray it doesn't come to that." Hinata whispered fiercely, mouth a tense line as she gazed towards the smoldering heap of what had once been their home.

OoOoOoO

Sakura shivered, hands clasped tight with Tsunade, forcing herself deeper into the meditation and away from the noxious, singing pain of the Curse Mark. The young matriarch could hold it off this way, escape the foreign torture paralyzing her men with the Sannin's guidance, but that did not mean doing so was easy. Every moment taxed her and even if she could hold out against the onslaught, the panicked screaming of her loved ones was a constant pull on Sakura's focus. The Hokage took a deep breath, shoulders rising gently with the air, and Sakura felt another ounce of solidarity, more weight to anchor her own frantic mind. Kami! She was so glad that Tsunade was there! That the woman even had a theory about how to escape the tooth-shattering pain reverberating through the thrall was a miracle, and that the maneuver actually seemed to be working for now even more of one.

"How long can we last?" Sakura asked, voice full and resonant deep within her mind, impossible to know if the sentiment actually crossed through her lips.

"I don't know. Our endurance won't matter if Hiashi kills them, but the old bastard likes to gloat so we may have a little time." Tsunade responded, voice as toneless as a sleep-walker.

Sakura grit her teeth and tried to relax, tried to ignore the way her belly wanted to clench and press and push with every breath she took. She certainly wasn't an expert, but the gripping, rolling, throbbing constriction in her womb sure as hell didn't feel like practice contractions any-more and the tightening was coming too consistently besides. The baby, her daughter, was moving more as well and not in a way Sakura liked. The movements were jerky, almost fearful, kicking too much. Perhaps the little creature was wise enough to know when her home was being threatened and wanted to escape, wanted to be born before her mother's body collapsed and died around her. Sakura couldn't really blame her.

"Can I, um…Can I give birth this way?" Sakura asked timidly.

"Probably not. Let's do our best to try and avoid it." Tsunade said, as though that were the most reasonable thing in the entire world.

"Yeah, sure…" Sakura muttered, shivering again.

Dammit Naruto, she thought, you total moron! He should have known there was something weird about Neji's energy, or the jinchuuriki should have at least thought that maybe something random and strange with one of his subordinates might be reason enough to delay an all-out war! The fact that Sasuke hadn't known either and that no one had thought to bring the issue up was hardly an excuse. At least the pain of the Curse Mark meant they were all still alive, she hoped, or at least Naruto and Neji. The young woman grit her teeth. She didn't need this! Her sensei's jutsu only worked so long as she could ride overtop the waves of engulfing agony, so long as she could maintain separation from the others and that required both focus and control. If they all died except for one poor, helpless, orphan baby, Sakura resolved that she would drag her husband's sorry ass back into the world of the living just so she could kill him again.

"Please…" She whispered, "Please just let them come home!"

OoOoOoO

Naruto panted, every nerve screaming, body quaking, but there was no promise of release. Even when everything ground to a sudden, jarring halt, he only awoke to more pain, screaming even before he managed to return to full consciousness. How? How could it just go on this way? He felt desperate, like his head was exploding, like maybe if he just…just smashed his own skull then perhaps the torment might finally end. The jinchuuriki gripped Sauske and Neji tighter to avoid the impulse, their own screams almost muffled in his ears by the ringing, chiming suffering shredding through his brain, unstopped by anything, unabated, endless. He couldn't give in, not when doing so meant their lives too, but his sanity was slipping. The Fox cried out as well, trying to find an escape, clawing desperately at the bars of his cage, whining piteously. Naruto shuddered. Sakura had been right all along and now everyone was going to die, maybe he was just being cruel letting it go on.

"Fuck! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Naruto howled to the Kyuubi.

"We need a way out! We have to get out, kit! OUT!" The Fox wailed.

He couldn't respond. The cresting pain was rising again, sizzling over his flayed nerves, white-washing him mind in agony so deep he could almost taste it, like the scent left in the air after a lightning storm. He screamed, or tried to, his throat was closed too tightly to release the noise. The dull sensation of Hiashi's hand in his hair was almost meaningless, too distant to be scary or disgusting, and for a single maddened, hopeless instant Naruto would have been willing to do anything just as long as the racing torment stopped. He squeezed his eyes shut. Kami, no wonder Neji was a fatalistic bastard! Sasuke was shouting something at him and it almost sounded like words, like real language with form and meaning, not just more desperate shrieking. He tried to focus, to pay attention, to force his shattering brain to work. Sasuke was talking, talking to him specifically, and he had to at least try.

"The…thrall! Ah…! Compel him! Compel Neji!" Sasuke shouted, mouth pressed close against his ear.

"…Thrall…?" Naruto managed.

"Yes…Baka! He's…He's under the thrall, shit! Compel him! Do...ah...do it now!" Sasuke said, teeth chattering with the aftershocks of the Mark.

He should compel Neji, because...Neji was under the thrall? Naruto struggled for a moment, trying to think, trying to understand what his subordinate wanted of him without the wailing inferno rampaging in his skull stealing the concept entirely. He supposed that Neji would have to be under the thrall, that there was no other way the Hyuuga Curse Mark would work against them otherwise, but...compel him? Compel him to do what, exactly? All three of them were merely struggling to remain conscious and forcing Neji to focus on anything else might make it even worse, so what could Sasuke possibly want Neji to try to do? Naruto frowned, gritting his teeth, wishing that his brain didn't feel so rumpled and hurt so that he could think about everything rationally and figure out what Sasuke wanted of him. Then again, maybe the command didn't need to be something specific, maybe it was enough just to use the thrall itself...A fierce surge of hope lit itself in his breast and Naruto swallowed hard, trying to make his mouth and jaw and larynx relax just enough to issue the words with the right inflection and tone.

"Neji, stop..." The jinchuuriki gasped at last and he felt the words take on another layer of power.

As swiftly as the terrible invasion into their heads had come, the pain was just as abruptly gone leaving only the ringing of injured nerve cells in Naruto's ears and the wavering afterimages of flashing lights in his eyes. The relief rocked through him like a palpable wave of soothing ointment against a burn and, even though his body was still wracked with pain and his chest was still a mangled mass of aching muscles and splintered bones, he felt like he could sleep for days. He sighed, vision suddenly blurry with tears. He'd never known suffering of the sort caused by the curse mark before and even the barest suggestion of going through it again was enough to make his heart shake against his ribs. Sasuke was crying softly too, the relief washing off his mind from the thrall almost enough to pull Naruto fully into unconsciousness, but the one he felt most strongly was Neji.

The Hyuuga's brain wasn't working right and Naruto could tell already that even with the jutsu released, his other subordinate still couldn't see more than the foggy suggestion of shapes and light. The silver eyed genius's right arm was stiffened and much too still at his side, curled at an awkward angle. Nothing about the feeling of him through the thrall was normal and Naruto knew that Neji was injured, injured very badly in the one place that Sakura said never ever healed: his brain. Teeth chattering, the jinchuuriki reached out to squeeze Neji's fingers, horrified by the heavy limpness of the limb and the way that the brunette barely even stirred as he half crushed it in his own shaking palm. Neji, he realized with a start, couldn't feel his right hand anymore. On another day, in another place, the fact that his lover's arm was completely non-functional would have taken the entirety of Naruto's focus, but something large and vicious was clawing it's way through the roof and Hiashi was kneeling only a few feet away.

Shakily, the vessel forced himself to his feet, glaring with all his might at the Hyuuga clanhead. He was weak, badly injured and still suffering the after-effects of the Hyuuga family's very particular brand of torture, but the monstrous beast snapping it's jaws through the widening hole in the main chamber's roof had all of Hiashi's attention and Naruto knew he wouldn't be presented with a better chance. Taking a breath, he firmed his stance and began the gestures for Rasengan, trying not the think about how the technique had failed him before, trusting that the firm strength in the bottom of his chest was more than just instinct. Even before he began, Naruto could feel the technique, feel the subtle pull in his center of stillness, his fulcrum, where it had always been before. He could do it, hey at least had to try. His form and focus was too badly disrupted to try a more unfamiliar technique like Kaze no Buredo and his chakra was too low to generate another army to tear Hiashi apart by force, Rasengan was the only technique in his arsenal that he felt both competent to weild and also had enough energy to support.

With a breath and a whispered word, the air gathered obediently around the jinchuuriki's hands, moving readily to his command, and began to accumulate density enough to spin. The feeling of it, of the slowly gathering cyclone within his fingers, was as familiar to Naruto as his own heartbeat, easy in a way few other techniques could ever be. He breathed and the air roared, leashed by his will and already bucking to be freed. He pulled from his chakra and the energy came bubbling forth as though it had never been blocked, an endless fountain to chi to fuel the killing winds in his hands. Finally released from the shackles of the Mark, Naruto's chest was already healing, his bones and tissues popping back into place with unnerving lurches and shifting snaps that he felt in every part of his body. The process felt weirdly united with the slowly concentrating gale of his wind jutsu, both the healing and the technique gathering force and momentum as he bent another ounce of will to the task.

Above him, the monster hissed, the sound more like the angry noise of a cat than any serpent he'd ever heard, snapping it's slender jaws viciously a few feet above Hiashi's head. The Hyuuga retaliated, trying to block the beast's chakra with a series of perfectly aimed flying kicks, but the creature's body merely shifted around the strikes, as insubstantial as smoke in one instant and solid, murderous fury the next. Naruto had never seen anything do that before, but he was more than occupied with his own attack and as long as the animal was focused on Hiashi it seemed imprudent to spend the energy trying to figure it out. Neji groaned weakly on the ground near his left foot, eyes open and face screwed up in concentration even though the jinchuuriki was certain he still couldn't see.

"What is it?" Neji rasped, fingers roving blindly over Sasuke's shoulder.

"Rasengan," The raven whispered tiredly, "If it actually works this time."

"Not that, I mean the gigantic fucking thing above us!" Neji hissed, haughty tone barely dimmed by his injuries.

"Oh," Sasuke replied almost casually, "Not sure, but it definitely wants to eat your Uncle."

The wind roared, gathering enough force to raise Naruto's hair even from within the clever cage of his jutsu, heavy with power and momentum even as he pressed another inch to drive further density into the shrieking ball of air. The jutsu was strong, firm and utterly perfect, but something about the whirling jetstream felt weird to him. Naruto grit his teeth, matching his own force to the maelstrum, letting his will align with the direction of the temperature differential to create even greater velocity. Above him, the darksome creature was humming, the sound strangely in sync with the gradually building roar of Rasengan, rising and falling with the same tempo. Naruto felt odd, his intention falling away, growing strangely distant and disconnected with every increase in speed and force he added to the shredding might of the attack. The humming was louder, so loud he could hear it in his bones, filling his mind with a heady presence wrapped tightly around his heart.

Naruto gasped, his mental grasp on the jutsu falling away, replaced with pulsing pleasure more profound than anything else he'd every experienced. He moaned, every fiber calling for even greater surrender, his body moving without his will. He almost felt as if Rasengan was taking on a life of it's own or...or if the technique was being controlled by someone else. Gasping, Naruto tried not to panic as his hands began performing the final gestures all on their own, like puppets attached to his arms. His body settled into a lower stance and prepared to throw, moving without any conscious will to place the rending ball of deadly air into his left hand. The movement as smooth and natural as always but Naruto felt like nothing more than a passenger in his own flesh, the rhythmic humming of the beast filling every limb with tingling force. Eyes wide with shock and no small amount of fear, Naruto braced himself.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted above the heaving hurricane still moving like a thing possessed in his left palm, "Look after Neji!"

"What?!" His subordinate shouted, looking confused.

"It's not mine! I...I can't control Rasengan!" Naruto shouted, grimacing in fear as his body moved without his consent.

"Oh...shit." Sasuke hissed.

"Protect him, Teme! I don't know what's going to happen!"

"Hai!" His subordinate shouted, face perplexed as he tried to summon enough strength to activate his Sharingan, pulling Neji beneath his chest as the building shook.

"Rasengan."

"R…Rasengan?" Naruto squeaked as his rebellious hands released the swirling cyclone directly into Hiashi's face.

The ultimate wind technique howled like a banshee as it tore through everything left of the main Hyuuga audience chamber, slamming into Hiashi with enough force to rip the armored plates from his body and toss him like a doll against the splintering timbers. Naruto's eyes were streaming tears as the massed air filled the monster's wings where it crouched on the collapsing roof, puffing it aloft and out of sight for a few moments. Hiashi was battered, thrown to the ground only to be swept up again and hurled against the wavering support beams. With a crack, a shudder and a groan, the building crumbled entirely, nothing more than smoldering matchwood on the ground. The alien compulsion left Naruto's body in a quaking rush and he swayed a little, feeling odd, like his heart was still beating out of sync with the movements of his blood vessels. He was lightheaded and a bit out of breath, the ground still tilting sickeningly under his unsteady feet, but the jinchuuriki as surprised to find that he was not really in pain. In fact, his body was almost completely healed.

At Naruto's feet, Neji and Sasuke were still curled around eachother in a tight ball of armor, limbs and long brown hair, unharmed. Sasuke poked his head up from the rubble, expression pensive and a bit suspicious as well, the darker patterns in his red, Sharingan-activated eyes moving rapidly. Frowning, but not quite scowling, the raven directed his gaze upward. Naruto shivered as the icy sweat over his body cooled another fraction, closing his eyes for a single moment as he sat with a soft thump, belly still trembling from whatever had momentarily possessed him.

"What the hell just happened?" Sasuke wheezed, coughing a little as the swirling dust began to settle.

"I dunno, I was doing it just like normal one second and the next..." Naruto shrugged in helpless befuddlement, "Can you tell who or I guess what our unexpected ally is?"

"No," Sasuke muttered, "But he's still up there, riding the currents, waiting for the air to clear so he can dive back down here."

"He?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow, but Sasuke did not elaborate.

Neji groaned softly, but did not rise. The last gusting billows of air whistled away and when the wind finally died back down, Naruto took it as an unspoken sign from whatever beign governed such things that his momentary respite was over. Whimpering softly, the jinchuuriki rose and began picking his way through the still burning disaster. The fight wasn't over, not until their target was eliminated, and he wanted to find Hiashi before the sleek, black stoat-on-wings returned. For a few moments, Naruto hunted in the wreckage for Hiashi without finding anything that looked familiar, disoriented both by his inner imbalance and the shocking destruction left behind by Rasengan. After a few moments of dizzied searching, Naruto found the clanleader half-impaled on the wickedly sharp shards of wood left over from what had probably once been a kind of dais, a throne for the Hyuuga king. Naruto sneered; how fucking appropriate.

"Hiashi Hyuuga, it's time you were punished for your crimes." Naruto whispered, moving closer as the sick heaviness of the hate began to tug on his guts again.

The clanhead stirred and smiled, lips smeared with blood, his eyes weary, but still mad. With one hand, Hiashi beckoned Naruto closer, the gesture slow and grand as if this were a formal audience instead of merely another act of indispensable butchery. The arrogance of that one, small thing alone made his blood boil. The jinchuuriki bared his teeth and stalked closer, readying a kunai in his left hand, the weapon already damp with enough Hyuuga blood to stain the steel forever. Coughing a bit, Hiashi faced him, his composure perfect despite the gruesome injuries throughout his body. How could he be so calm, Naruto wondered, with pieces of dirty, jagged wood poking through his chest and belly, pinning one foot gruesomely against the floor? The strangeness of it turned his already sour stomach.

"Come kill me, brat. Come do what you can. My death proves nothing." He wheezed.

"That's not the point. I have to protect my family." Naruto whispered, crouching low to face him eye to eye. Hiashi laughed wetly.

"Family is…keh…only another tool and one you don't know how to use at all! Your mother…your mother…she had the same weakness, she chose someone who could never protect her…someone common and…and weak." Hiashi muttered, looking through Naruto's face to some memory far beyond both of them. The jinchuuriki shuddered despite himself, feeling ill.

"You killed my subordinate. I'll make you pay!" Naruto growled, trying to hold onto the seeping poison of his anger when everything about the situation just made him feel tired. Sasuke was right, hatred was exhausting.

"You can't. You never could do…do…" Hiashi muttered, eyes unfocused, hand reaching for him.

Naruto stood transfixed, held like a rabbit in the sway of a snake, his emotions a boiling mess of hurt, anger, hatred and confusion. He'd killed people. In some ways, killing people was his job, but he'd never followed a personal vendetta so far before or made so many sacrifices to achieve a goal and now that the objective was within reach…Tears gathered in his eyes. Up close, Hiashi was still a man, a miserable, old man without a single ally left at his side and only the memory of someone who never loved him to attend his death. Naruto had thought Hiashi would be killed in battle, blow to blow, in the heat of the fray and that he wouldn't have the time to even think about it, much less hesitate. His half-numb fingers shook on the kunai, blunted claws slipping on the slick coating of gore. Wasn't this supposed to be easy? Naruto grit his teeth together tightly against whatever noise wanted to emerge, muscles taught and aching with trying to keep his jaw from shaking.

"You've done terrible things," Naruto forced the words out with too much air, like a sob, "You've hurt so many people."

"Hmm…Up close you really do look more like her, the shape of your face is the same…Kami…but the hair is wrong, why is it always wrong…?" Hiashi muttered, bloody fingers drifting out to touch the sweeping waves of a long mane that Naruto didn't have.

"You…Fuck you! You're the one who made this happen! Why are you being so pathetic!?" Naruto shouted, the tears finally spilling down his cheeks, "Why can't you even die right!?"

"I should have…killed you, but…you remind me so much of her." Hiashi wheezed.

"Kill him dobe!" Sasuke snapped, eyes locked to the sky, and Naruto flinched.

A sound, the vulpine snarl of a fox combined with the whistling chirp of a stoat on the hunt and then the air was churning again, stirred by the massive beating of a very large pair of wings. Naruto felt it then, the same profound pull as before, the thumping of the creature's wings echoing through his spirit to squeeze his heart and force it to beat in lurching synchrony. He felt the urge to perform Rasengan, the desire like the need for air or water, inarguable. Yelping, Naruto rose to his feet as if pulled by a magnet, his feet moving into a rooted fighting stance without his control as his left hand began performing the gestures for the jutsu. This time, he was almost ready for the pounding pleasure thundering through his body, deeper than feeling and sharper than thought, a sensation beyond his flesh and yet very much within him. He gasped, feeling drugged as his body proceeded to perform the jutsu one-handed in a way he'd never managed before, he gestures so rapid the joints of his hand cracked. The air gathered obediently, heavy and lazily turning against his palm, but immediately Naruto knew that something was very wrong.

He struggled, feet sliding against the ground as whatever vast consciousness possessing him pressed him inexorably to move and turn, change his footing and complete the technique. The eerie blue glow of the creature's markings illuminated Hiashi's ugly, crazy face as it hovered closer, close enough that Naruto could smell it. The beast smelled like ink, old, good ink like the kind Tsunade reserved for the letters she used to write to Jiraiya, and fine, soft paper. The scent lulled him, comfortable and weirdly familiar, but Naruto refused to be dragged down into complacency. He couldn't do this, not this way, or Hiashi wouldn't be the only thing destroyed.

"No!" Naruto shouted, grabbing his left hand futilely with his right, fighting.

"Naruto! Naruto stop!" Sasuke shrieked in sudden panic, rising only to fall again, trying to move towards him.

"No! It's wrong! Wait! WAIT!" Naruto stammered, fear slowly morphing into panic.

"Rasengan." The svelte monster thrummed, landing with the delicacy of a cat just behind him, its electric blue eyes narrow and fierce.

"No! No! We can't!" Naruto wailed, shaking his head even as the compulsion filled him and set his teeth chattering with wanton longing.

The creature stalked closer, it's sinuous body lithe and oddly beautiful, eyes locked like two, burning blue coals on Hiashi's bemused face. It's paws were long, elegant, and decorated with twisting, sweeping markings. The whirling marks pulsed blue as the graceful monster moved, walking on top of the rubble like a rabbit on snow, tail lashing malevolently. For a moment Naruto thought the azure patterns almost looked like language, but older than anything he'd ever tried to read. The beast's silky body coiled around him, protective and almost possessive as well, the soft fur of its tail warm and almost sensual against his throat. Naruto shivered, but refused the unspoken command. He couldn't do Rasengan this way, not with the way the air was moving, or the technique would be a self-feeding force no one would be able to stop.

The error was a small one, but one the jinchuuriki had made before, a slight inconsistency in the tempo of the winds that came from trying to do too much too quickly, but as small mistakes went this was not the one he wanted to make. Whoever was controlling Rasengan didn't understand the subtleties of the jutsu, or maybe they just didn't have the experience with wind that he did, but this was one little amateur fuck-up that would level everything in a three mile radius if released at full magnitude. On accident, Naruto had almost performed Rasengan that way once before, drawn in by the captivating density of the air and the misleading ease of the hand gestures needed to initiate the technique. One forest and half a lake later, Naruto had finally managed to calm the cyclone, but this one would be much, much worse.

This maelstrum had ten, no maybe even a hundred times as much energy and was being done way faster too. Rasengan now, moving so quickly and without the inherent awkwardness he'd had as a student, not to mention the endless fuel the peculiarly familiar monster was pushing into the jutsu, would be enough to destroy Konoha completely if he allowed the chakra to be released.

OoOoOoO

Sakura gasped, face drenched with sweat as another contraction rocked her with the urge to push, her body held in check by only the barest margin and inching closer to the edge every moment. The electric, invasive agony of the Hyuuga Curse Mark was gone, but so too was any mental reserve she might have hoped to maintain. Worse yet, even though her uterus was nearly rigid with the urge to deliver her baby, her cervix was not open, not even a little. Sakura knew very little about gynecology, it was never a field of medicine she liked, but she knew enough to know that a fully cosed cervix against steadily more frantic contractions was bad. Her body was cut off from the chakra in her pelvis, unable to react enough to accommodate her daughter's birth. Panting she squeezed Tsunade's hand.

"Getting…getting tired sensei…" She panted.

"I know girl, hang on! I can't figure out what in the hell Neji and Sasuke did to your chakra, but we have to reverse it or this baby is only coming out one way!" Tsunade snapped.

"How? How can we cut…when I just…just heal?" Sakura asked, eyes wide with terror.

"Oh…" Tsunade said, the thought clearly not having occurred to her.

Sakura rolled her eyes. Seriously, it wasn't like Tsunade was any stranger to the unconquerable healing ability Naruto had passed to her through the thrall and Sakura hadn't needed stitches in a long, long, long time! Trying to open her body through all five layers it would take to deliver via cesarean section would be near impossible with one layer closing just as another was opened. Gaara and his subordinates had managed it with Matsuri, a fact very few people knew, but the procedure had been so ugly that the woman nearly died and was rendered barren for years. Sakura wished that she'd been intelligent enough to ask how they'd done it just in case.

"Shit!" She cursed, shutting her eyes against the stinging salt of her own sweat.

"Don't worry, I have all of Master Jiraiya's notes!" Tsunade said, her tone firm and confident even though her fingers were shaking.

"Can you…read them all…now?" Sakura asked dubiously.

"Quiet! If you have energy enough to talk then you have energy enough to focus! Hold it together, Haruno!" Tsunade snapped.

OoOoOoO

Sasuke knew it even before the winged creature fully reached the ground, knew it both by the swirling patterns of chakra he saw through the lens of the Sharingan and the graceful way that the beast moved. It flew towards them, supple and fine like a beautiful sword. The elegance of its body was familiar, something he knew well, something he loved very much that he'd been made to part with too soon. For too many moments, the dark haired killer just stared up at the flashing patterns of life-energy in the sky, unwilling to believe what his own eyes seemed to imply. The fact that the gigantic, ferocious, fox-weasel-cat-paintbrush-thing was actually his own, darling, little sociopath was only just secondary to the fact that Sai was dead. Sasuke had never been more sure someone was dead too, since he'd buried artist with his own hands, personally; he'd cast soil into his grave himself. Yet, inexplicably, the fearsome demon rending the night to rain vengeance down onto Hiashi Hyuuga and the pretty, damaged, affectionate ninja were one and the same thing. Chakra never lied. Even so, even after several precious minutes of blinking, Sasuke still couldn't quite believe it.

Naruto was shouting his head off and thrashing before them, holding his left hand in his right as though the limb had somehow sprouted a mind of its own and was fighting him like an ornery dog with a stick. There was something totally odd about his alpha's energy, but Sasuke had never seen anything like the disruption before and without something to compare the pattern against he had no way to know what it meant. The chakra of Naruto's body was still flowing into all of this limbs well and without impingement, but the life-current around his heart and through the cardiac meridian to his left arm was just flowing differently. The chi moved languidly, more like the way thick ink smears onto paper than the normal easy, airy movement habitual to Naruto's energy. If he hadn't known better, Sasuke would never have recognized the resonance pattern as belonging to the blond kitsune at all, in fact it sort of looked like...

His mouth fell open. Oh, that just could not be possible, not for a jinchuuriki…and yet, yet when all other possible explanations failed, he supposed only impossible phenomena remained. Apparently Orochimaru had been right and if his old, thankfully dead, sensei knew anything it was how to push the physical boundaries of bodily possession. Naruto had been so changed after his mating with Sai; his skin marked and his abilities unbalanced in ways Sasuke had never seen before. Naruto was unconscious until Sai died. Naruto could not do Rasengan and then the jutsu was out of his control. Naruto was...he was...Sasuke's eye widened even in the building hurricane as all the pieces finally clicked into place.

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted, "Naruto, stop!"

The kitsune wasn't listening to him, far too absorbed in the task of trying to hold his ninjutsu back. Sasuke grit his teeth and tried to rise. His limbs still felt heavy and stiff, the muscles hopelessly fatigued by the constant tension held in them while he tried to resist Hiashi's mark. Cursing, Sasuke fell, staggering a little. He had to reach Naruto before his alpha lost the fight against Sai and released that technique, mostly because Naruto wouldn't be resisting that much unless something was profoundly wrong with the jutsu. Even to Sasuke, Rasengan didn't look quite right. The streams of chakra driven air were thick and tempestuous, like heavy chains instead of the usual silk ribbons, and while he didn't necessarily know what that meant, he knew enough about jutsu in general to know it was going to have consequences.

"Use the thrall!" Neji whimpered, gripping his ankle weakly with his left hand.

"I can't use the thrall, I'm not the alpha! Shut-up and rest, moron!" Sasuke snarled.

"No! Not a command, use your emotion, use it to communicate!" Neji rasped.

"My...emotion?" Sasuke whispered, "Ugh."

"Do it!" Neji hissed, fierce even half-paralyzed.

Sasuke felt his guts tremble. His feelings were a mess, they usually were, and he barely even knew what the character of his inner landscape implied half the time, much less what it should be called and how he should respond. Sasuke let out a frustrated breath. He'd always just tried to ignore whatever emotion he was feeling, with the exclusion of anger, because life seemed simpler and easier to navigate that way. Of course nothing about jinchuuriki was ever fucking simple. Rolling his eyes in defeat, he projected a wave of frustration at Naruto and within the feeling he pushed the idea that Naruto needed to use thrall on the beast behind him. Sasuke tried to make each word resound with his anger, pushing the emotion into the thoughts as he once had into his own doubts, hoping it would be enough. For a long moment there was nothing and then Naruto was shouting at him, half turned away and pulled back so far from his own left hand that he was probably giving himself a second degree shoulder sprain, shrieking like a maniac.

"The THRALL! What?! HOW?! WHY!? Ahhh!" Naruto howled in Sasuke's general direction, eyes squeezed shut with the effort of resisting what Sasuke was more and more convinced had to be Sai's thrall.

"It's SAI!" Sasuke shouted, hands cupped around his mouth.

"WHAT?!"

"SAI! SAI! It's him! The...the THING! It's HIM!" Sasuke replied. Naruto opened his eyes.

Sasuke's breath caught in his chest at the expression on his alpha's face as the words reached him through the wind. The jinchuuriki stopped for a moment, stopped in a way that only one of his kind can, only the motion of his left hand continuing, like a puppet dancing on a string, as his stock-still blue eyes burning holes into Sasuke's own. Naruto's face looked frozen, the shock more than just the visceral kick of hope heaving through their connection. Sai was alive. Naruto was in thrall to him. Sasuke felt his lungs quake as the tears gathered in the perfect, blue mirrors of his alpha's eyes and spilled over, streaming down his whisker-marked cheeks in a torrent to drip unheeded to the rent ground below.

"Sai..." Naruto whispered, only the movement of his lips giving Sasuke any indication as to what he was saying.

The gale was blowing, unbalanced and out of control, their own little patch of ground rapidly becoming the focus for a tornado the likes of which Sasuke had never known before and really did not want to see completed. The roaring air was slowly swallowing every noise except the sound of the raven's own frantic heartbeat and the fucking oxygen too, leaving him even more lightheaded than before, gasping shallowly like a fish out of water. He had a vague recollection that Naruto's tornadoes during the Hyuuga invasion of the western woods had been big, but those at least were under control and whatever Rasengan was turning into was definitely not. Naruto turned, his expression stubborn, scrubbing at his eyes with his right hand as his left just carried on, completely independent of the rest of his body. Sasuke knew the blond was fatigued and overwhelmed, they all were, but they were also quickly running out of time. The darksome murderer snarled, shaking his fist urgently, hoping the gesture would convey the meaning simple shouting would not.

"Come on dobe!" He snapped, knowing the words would be lost in the wind and too stressed to care.

"Sai, stop." Naruto said and even without the sound of the words, Sasuke knew immediately what had been said.

The monster shrieked and sighed, the long coils of his glistening, furred body tensing in unexpected delight as the compulsion moved through him. Sasuke brought his arms up to shield his face, the ties on his arm covers snapping madly, trying to see through the tearing wind to the figures moving within the unnatural storm's embrace. Like dark waves lapping at the murky edges of moonlit cliffs, one shadow against another, Sai's body simply lost substance, shifting in a weird amalgam of matter and energy to settle on the ground in a much smaller, much weaker shape. A deep pang of terrible sadness lanced through Sasuke's heart and stabbed deep, drawing sudden light into the part of his soul where Sai's frozen love still slept in heavy darkness. Sasuke's breath hitched. Sai was alive, trembling in human form once again, and wracked with emotion he could no longer cope with, paralyzed by age old hurts even Sasuke could barely understand. The artist was frightened, disoriented, anguished and transfixed by his own inner pain, but he was alive...He was alive, alive. Despite the danger, the wind, his injuries and all common sense, Sasuke was up and moving, reaching for the small figure crouched on the ground behind Naruto.

OoOoOoO

Naruto's spirit-taken farm fell to his side with a limp thump as Sai's thrall left his body in a heart-stopping rush. The kitsune only just managed to toss Rasengan, or whatever the hell it was now, into his right before the jutsu blew a crater all the way to Gaara's palace. Even though he already knew something as simple as withdrawing his influence wouldn't work, Naruto tried to snuff the howling cyclone out like a candle's flame through sheer reflex, belly clenching in fear as the wind roared on anyway. The jutsu had already acquired far too much force and, even without his chakra fueling it, the technique's destructive potential was more than enough to resist simple squashing. Naruto hated the way the weight of the wind was moving, like a pendulum swinging on a chain, totally wrong. He could hold it back for now, but the writhing ball of air was nowhere near controlled and only growing bigger, whistling like a living thing as it roiled against Naruto's clawed fingers. The vessel grunted as he fought its momentum, teeth long and sharp with Kyuubi's chakra as his muscles bunched and strained against the bucking force of the currents, barely holding it back, feet sliding ominiously in the sooty mud.

He'd never tried to release Rasengan up into the air before and for all he knew the technique could generate some kind of horrible storm system that would be even more problematic than a simple, kingdom-swallowing explosion. The thought was not an especially comforting one. Naruto tightened his jaw and tried to think about what alternatives might exist, his mind supplying precious few equally bad options to choose from. He could just hold onto the jutsu until he became fatigued and hope the gnashing air managed to further destabilize, on its own and in just the right way, which was practically impossible, or he could try pulling the energy apart manually. Neither of those approaches had ever actually worked before.

Naruto swallowed hard, sweat dripping into his eyes. Master Jiraiya always said that choosing an option you already knew was wrong never solved anything and a perfectly good uncertainty just might. He could gamble on the chance that, given enough space, the whirling air might just spin out naturally into harmless eddies too high in the atmosphere to harm anyone. Even the under the best conditions Naruto knew so much destructive force couldn't be dismantled without some collateral damage, but simply letting the element do what it did best and spread could work. Praying that his old master would be right just once more, Naruto squatted low and launched what was very nearly a fist-sized typhoon up into the thick, mauve snow clouds above.

There was a sound, the sonic rumble of air ripping into itself, and then the clouds opened like water scattering around the impact of a stone. A rush of cold, a hint of sucking emptiness and then the snow-clouds rolled back to reveal the most perfectly clear view of the stars Naruto had ever seen. The stars against the blackness of the night sky were so bright that the glitter of them nearly hurt his eyes, something he'd only see once before, long ago, outside the hidden village of Summit. The air in the mountains of Summit was almost too thin to breathe and for a moment the atmosphere around him was almost the same, forcing Naruto to pant desperately just to fill his lungs.

Behind him, Sasuke was also working hard to breathe, his whispered words punctuated by gasping as he pulled himself to the prone mass of Sai's body. The wind shrieked high above them, stirring the clouds like whipped sugar, and then there was only the shocking quiet of Hiashi's house crumbling and the jinchuuriki's own tremulous breathing. With a sound halfway between a whimper and a sob, Naruto collapsed onto his knees, mouth dry and eyes freshly filled with tears.

Sakura said crying was good for the body, something about stress. He shook his head. If she was right, Naruto would be never get sick again after this, he'd done more crying in the last few days than in the whole rest of his life combined! He snuffled, the sound almost a giggle, trying to catch his breath in the painfully thin air as the clouds began creeping back over the sky in fat plumes of disgruntled water vapor, the soft mounds of them illuminated by the cool light of the stars. Hiashi sat slumped before him, face turned to the heavens and obviously alive, but Naruto couldn't conjure the will to care. Still pinned with wood and bleeding heavily, Hiashi was too incapacitated to stir up trouble and the Hyuuga would probably just die on his own in a few more hours anyway. Naruto didn't need the burden and he already felt the weight of too many lives.

He was tired. He was done. Sakura was weirdly quiet in his thoughts and Sai...he gasped. Sai, the one as precious to him as his own terminally possessed left hand, was alive too and that meant far more than any vendetta. Sai was with him again, risen from the dead, alive, alive. With another breath to steady himself, Naruto turned to look at the shaking, nude form Sasuke had pulled into his lap. He could hear the soft sobbing and the voice sounded like his, like Sai's, but different too. There was a fullness, a depth to the words passed in breathy whispers between his black-haired subordinates at was new and Naruto realized he should be focusing on what the two of them were saying, but his own heartbeat was much too loud.

"Sai?" Naruto asked, very quietly, wondering if he'd even be heard.

"Hai." Sasuke said, hugging the quivering figure closer, "It's really him."

"Another little...monster..." Hiashi rasped venemously. Naruto ignored him.

"Naruto?" Sai asked into Sasuke's shoulder, voice small and filled with suffering.

"I'm here! Sai...Sai, what's wrong baby?" Naruto asked, feeling both stupid and helpless.

"When will you stop with that? No one likes it." Sasuke muttered, expression sour.

"I…I do!" Sai gasped, barely loud enough to hear.

Sai said nothing else, but kept crying like his heart was broken, like everything good in the world was gone. The sound wrenched his heart and not just because the energy supporting the organ was in thrall to the hanyou's will. Sai looked uninjured, but he was still hurt. He was incapacitated. Naruto reached for him just as the artist turned to face him, the lines and planes and shadows of his face so perfect and familiar that Naruto couldn't manage the effort to keep breathing while looking at him and the jinchuuriki was crying too hard to try.

The soft oval of his face, the paper-white skin, the heavy mass of silky, ebony hair was all just as he remembered, just as it had been the day they buried him, but there were differences too. The outer edge of Sai's irises were ringed with a shimmering band of filmy electric blue, like a hoop of softly burning coals bleeding into the slate black of his eyes. Bright blue markings, like the stylized rendering of tears tracking down a dance mask, rimmed his eyes in delicate tendrils and then ran down his cheeks, farther on the left than the right, to terminate in a drop shaped point just above his jaw. Two small, spiral horns swept back from his hairline, above the crest of his ears, the right a bare nubby suggestion and the left arching back to lie almost like a coronet over the shaggy sweep of his hair. Above the right horn was a little shock of bright blue hair, almost lost in the black. A small marking in the center of his forehead almost looked like Naruto's own whirlpool sigil, written in startling blue for anyone to see above Sai's eyes. His fingers were tipped in delicate blue claws, the shape of them slender and very sharp, and there was another teardrop of blue secreted in the central dip of Sai's lower lip, like a target zone for kisses.

He was different from before, more complete somehow, realized. Naruto inhaled and again caught his scent, the fragrance of fine-milled paper and expensive ink blending with the smell of old books and quiet libraries, but most shocking of all was that he even had one. Sai had a smell, he was a whole person for the first time since the jinchuuriki had known him and he could feel the change in the thrall too, the completeness. He felt the weight of so many feelings, caged for so long and rampaging through the artist's body like a prairie fire. There was pain and violence in the power of the emotion, along with the terrible fragility that came from being in Sai's own, true form.

For a while Naruto just stared, trying to coax his aching, exhausted mind to come up with something to say other than how shocking and beautiful his subordinate was. Sai was crying hysterically, eyes filled with tears, chest heaving, each of the small sounds escaping him filled with such complete misery that Naruto could hardly do more than shake his head and brush the tears from his cheeks.

"I'm messed up, there's just too...too much." Sai mumbled against his hand, weeping.

"Too much?" He echoed, stroking Sai's newly decorated face.

"He is an adult. His mind is complete and there is too much emotion that remains unacknowledged." Kyuubi whispered in Naruto's mind, sounding equally awed.

"He's amazing, that he managed to hide, hide everything, for so long..." Naruto replied into his thoughts, shaking his head again.

"If you had asked me, I would have said such a thing was impossible. I understand now why I always felt him to be a juvenile, though." Kyuubi said.

"Oh, I just thought you couldn't figure out human development." Naruto quipped to the demon within.

"I am well aware of the biology of your species. No, my confusion stemmed from the fact that Sai's body, his mind, felt distinctly unfinished." The Fox sighed, clearly disturbed.

Naruto sighed as well, overcome, the deaths of an entire house pressing heavy against his spirit now that the adrenaline was gone. He traced the blue, an echo of an entire lifetime of tears unshed, a mark of grief permanently etched onto Sai's pale face. The artist's eyes followed him, the pupils slitted now, fixed onto his own through the tears even as Sai wept and trembled and tried to find some foothold. Naruto reached for him, threading his fingers through the damp weight of Sai's hair.

"Naruto...is it...is it very horrible?" Sai cried, bringing a hand to cover his own face, the small, sharp teeth in his mouth visible beneath quivering lips.

"NO!" Naruto replied, too loudly, "You...You're just...just BEAUTIFUL!"

"I...I'm messed up." Sai whispered again, holding his head in both hands and crying even harder.

"Dobe! Don't be so loud and go get Neji!" Sasuke snarled, pragmatic as always.

Naruto nodded, swallowing hard and wiping at his eyes, trying to convince his hands to stop touching Sai's face, arms, everything. The artist smiled a little through the tears, the effort obviously costing him as a fresh crest of sadness, loss, anger, terror, grief and every other emotion imaginable gushed through the thrall. Pressing a brief kiss to the little whirl on Sai's magically-not-dead-and-maybe-a-demon forehead, Naruto rose and limped to where Neji was still lying half propped up onto his left elbow in the rubble. Falling to his knees, the jinchuuriki pulled the Hyuuga fully into his lap, brushing the long strands of mahogany hair from his bruised and soot-stained face. Neji wasn't looking at him and it was for no other reason than because he couldn't see to focus on his face. The fact that the genius was blind rocked him, but the grip of Neji's strong left hand on the edge of Naruto's armored vest was firm. Neji clung to him, face twisted in shame, but unwilling to let go. Naruto kissed him and then again as the subtle weakness in the right side of Neji's mouth made itself known against the sensitive skin of his own lips.

"I'm sorry." Neji said, voice barely more than a whisper and so rough that Naruto might not have even recognized it was him.

"It's okay, it's okay...Oh! I'm so sorry! I'm so fucking stupid, please, please forgive me!" Naruto wailed, holding him.

"I made a mistake. I tried to play both sides, satisfy everyone, and instead everyone is hurt..."

"Neji, Kami, don't say that! All of this is my fault! All of it, you hear!?" Naruto cried.

"Please, Naruto, do you still want me?" Neji said, his voice catching a little, lips quivering against the skin of the jinchuuriki's neck.

"Yes! Yes! Kami! What would I do without you? You're mine you know, you've been this whole time!" He cried, holding Neji too tight, weeping into the fragrant curtain of his hair.

"Hiashi, is he dead?" Neji whispered.

"No, no, I didn't kill him. Sai's alive so, so I just want it to stop..." Naruto said, kissing him again.

"Good." Neji sighed, "Bring me to him."

Naruto didn't bother asking what any of it meant, Neji was being cryptic as usual, but he was too tired and too sad and he just wanted to go home with all of them so he obeyed without question. Hefting Neji fully into his arms, just as he had on the first night the Hyuuga came into his home, Naruto stood shakily. He adjusted Neji's weight, gripping his right arm and tucking it against his chest so the limb wouldn't flop around so much. Neji sighed against his shoulder, nuzzling close.

"I love you. I love being held by you." He whispered. Naruto blushed.

"You pick strange times to speak so bluntly. It's a little weird, believe it." Naruto replied, his voice trying to be light and only managing to crack instead.

"It's honesty. I'm trying it." Neji quipped, smiling a little. Naruto squeezed him a bit tighter.

"You're funny."

"I'm broken. I'll never be worth anything now. Naruto, you...you have to know that. You have to know that I'll never be a ninja again." Neji whispered.

"You'll be okay. You'll heal." Naruto argued, pressing his nose against Neji's own affectionately.

"I won't. My brain is injured. I'm crippled, Naruto." Neji whispered.

OoOoOoO

The world felt too bright, too cold, too hot and far, far too loud. Sai's teeth rang with the noise of it, the cacaphony of too much feeling, the grief of his mother's death thrashing against his mind like a wild animal driven mad in a cage. He still felt her dying breaths and the fluttering wind of her wings, the aching memory of so much cold and hunger, years of pain and desperation suddenly clear and awful in his memory where before there'd only been merciful darkness. Sasuke was there, Sai could feel him, even talk to him when he managed to shut out the rest of his inner screaming. Sasuke smelled like blood and smoke and winter, the timber of steel and lightning still resonant in his voice after so much unbridled violence. Sai sobbed against his chest, both frightened and reassured. Sasuke smelled like he'd just killed many, many people, but Sai thought maybe he'd always smelled that way and the only difference was that the scent wasn't covered up by Sakura's perfume.

Sakura was keeping her distance, her presence in the thrall quiet and very far away, like she was hiding something or totally focused on something closer and more internal. Sai wished he could reach her. He missed her, maybe the most, or maybe her presence was just the way he thought of all of them together. Naruto dwelt in his body now, the way he'd wanted, but even the jinchuuriki's comfortable presence in his spirit was not enough to offer respite from the dragging pain, the emotional cost of an entire life lived numb. He'd managed to wake up, he'd needed to be awake and moving so that he could save them, but the shock was almost paralyzing. Even though his body was unhurt, Sai couldn't will himself to stand or walk or stop weeping.

"It's okay, it's okay idiot. We're going to get over this, we're going home." Sasuke was saying, his voice low and soft. Sai nodded.

"Are we dead?" He asked, teeth chattering.

"Not yet."

"Is this then...the feeling of being alive?" Sai asked, voice so low he was surprised Sasuke could hear him.

"Yes." Sasuke sighed and Sai knew he was looking over to where Naruto crouched around Neji's limp form.

"It hurts." Sai muttered, watching through the wet lens of his still streaming eyes as Naruto lifted Neji into his arms only to crumple back onto his knees.

"Yes, but our enemies hurt more." Sasuke snarled, and Sai felt the emotion in his voice like a physical weight against him.

He shuddered. He wanted to fall asleep again, but the others were too warm and close and present in his mind and the soft escape of his dreamless ocean was no longer an option. Neji was hurt. He was deeply and severely hurt and the others trembled with him in the lapping currents of the thrall. Sai couldn't remember whether he liked Neji or hated him, the emotion lost in the storm of every other feeling, but the artist didn't want the Hyuuga genius to be injured. Sasuke sighed against him, the sound just a little weak, dry and empty with fatigue. Sai nuzzled closer, knowing he could, knowing the raven would allow it. Sasuke loved him and Naruto too. He could feel how much now, and even though the love felt eerily similar to pain, he never wanted to go without it again.

Sasuke understood the sadness, he could hear the echoes of old grief in his tone, and Sai wondered how the other man managed to move when the emotion weighed so much, how he managed to breath around it. Sasuke knew, his mother was dead too, and yet he still had enough resilience left for the both of them. The artist smiled, pressing his lips to the sooty skin over Sasuke's pulse, breath pulling too hard with his tears to properly tell him how much that strength meant. Life hurt, raw like eyes closed too long in the dark, but Sai was still happy to be alive.

OoOoOoO

Neji felt his heart twist as Naruto started sobbing again, sinking back down onto his knees as if drawn by a weight he could not longer carry, the warmth of his alpha's tears falling onto his face in shocking rivulets. The Hyuuga tried to force his numbed mouth into something almost like a smile, hoped the place where he couldn't quite move it looked jaunty instead of just pathetic. He didn't want to make Naruto of all people cry. He just wanted to tell the truth, make it obvious that he wouldn't be the same, lay all the cards of the table. Naruto wouldn't be keeping him as a powerful warrior who could provide protection for their family, but a shattered invalid who might, someday, be able to walk by himself. The future was bleak, there wasn't much he could hope for and Neji had seen enough injuries like his own to know it. Naruto needed to know it too. Nothing was gained with false comforts.

"Please, you'll heal, you have to!" Naruto cried.

"People don't really heal from this. I'll try, but if you want that from me, it's better that you just...just..." Neji sighed, not sure how to ask someone who obviously loved him to leave him to die.

Neji didn't want to be a burden. Naruto married him with the expectation that he would be, well, functional at least and he wouldn't be, not now. Sai was alive, he could hear him crying, and just the relief alone of having the artist back absolved him of so much, more than enough to give him the peace he needed to let go. With Sai alive, he could be forgiven and maybe forgotten too, he could at least be spared the guilt of one mistake and that was more than he'd ever hoped for. Neji was happy. Despite everything, despite the unbelievable toll, he was just happy it was over. He'd rather die than live every day feeling like a disappointment. He wasn't afraid and in some ways, leaving the world would be easier, easier than coming to grips with the shattered state of his body, but he wouldn't abandon them again.

"Naruto, I'm just trying to be clear..."

"No! NO!" Naruto shouted and Neji had the distinct impression that if he hadn't been so badly injured, the jinchuuriki might have slapped him.

"You don't owe me anything." Neji whispered.

"I don't care! You will! You'll heal! You'll be better, stronger than before! Believe it!" Naruto wailed. Neji closed his eyes.

"And if I don't...If it just, never happens...do you, do you still want me even then?" He asked in a hoarse whisper.

"Even if there were nothing at all left of you, I would find a shred to keep." The jinchuuriki replied, pressing the cool, paralyzed fingers of Neji's right hand to his lips.

He'd already known what the answer would be, but the words rocked Neji to his core anyway. They loved him, Naruto loved him, and maybe the vessel had never really stopped after all. The Hyuuga had no delusions about his own worthiness, not that anyone could ever really be worthy of this kind of love, but it was still sort of a miracle. Finding people who legitimately loved him for nothing more than the person he was, who loved him entirely, just as his wise, wise sensei had warned. Neji nuzzled shamelessly into Naruto's arms, burrowing deep into the jinchuuriki's warmth, suddenly very, very tired.

"Then take me to Hiashi, and then...and then take me home." Neji said, voice steady despite the tears streaming from his eyes.

Naruto nodded and stood again, moving into a purposeful stride even as he did, the air from his movement cool against Neji's cheeks. Taking a breath, the Hyuuga activated Byuukugan, pleased beyond words and more grateful than he wanted to admit when the technique rose to his command as easily as it always had, the world finally revealed to his eyes. He could see Hiashi, the broken wood spearing through his body, and the injuries looked gruesome even within the pulsing glare of his jutsu, but Neji wasn't satisfied. Narrowing his eyes, he motioned for Naruto to set him down close enough to his Uncle to speak with him, close enough to touch if he wanted. Neji licked his lips, the thought making his fingers quake for violence.

"He's there." Naruto whispered.

"Nephew...ugh...you look a bit worse for wear." Hiashi said, voice pleasant despite both the pain and what had to be a very odd expression on his face, "Your Master is too weak to kill me...the fool."

"You've lost!" Naruto snarled.

Neji said nothing. Instead, he braced his body against Naruto's thigh and dug deep into the last reserve of his strength, imbuing his fingers with sizzling chi for a technique he'd never intended to use. The basic idea was 64 Palms, but on a much smaller and more tightly controlled scale, a way to sever flesh and energy at the same time with surgical precision. He thrust forward, hand like a sword, the technique much less elegant than what he usually preferred, but effective and he needed more than anything to be sure. To be sure that Hiashi was really dead. He tore the chakra channels from his Uncle's startled chest, ignoring the squealing shriek of a scream as he opened the skin and moved deeper, stopping the chi in Hiashi's heart. Neji could feel the organ stutter and fail, but it wasn't enough. He dug into the flesh itself, gouging the ribs apart with the stength of his hand alone, heedless of the blood.

"Neji...?" Naruto asked, voice stark with disgust, hands shaking against his hips.

"One more moment, please." Neji replied coldly, continuing his butchery with the same icy stillness he'd once worn with Hinata's throat clasped in his fingers.

"He's got to kill him completely." Sai elaborated and Neji smiled, a savage little twist of his paralyzed mouth.

"Fuck!" Sasuke breathed, his tone both surprised and a bit incredulous.

The feeling was the same, the killer instinct, the predator rage almost identical to the day when he'd almost killed his cousin, only this time he wasn't a confused teenager and the body under his claws was not Hinata. Neji twisted his hand, reaching blindly now, too weak to use Byukuugan. He didn't need the Hyuuga sight anyway and the only work left to be done was by touch alone. He tore his Uncle's heart out of the man's still jerking chest like a seed from the center of a melon and crushed it in his left hand, squeezing until his shaking fingers touched eachother. Naruto was saying something, but Neji could only nod to him silently as he fell into unconsciousness.


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which peace is found at last, old hurts are soothed and new life comes despite everything.

My Master, Koumyou Sanzo, spoke often of his travels to the far east and the odd, exotic and often perplexing creatures he encountered there, but I must confess a bit of indifference to the lessons behind his adventures. The other priests thought much of his research to be the product of an overactive imagination and even I regarded his teachings as nothing more than scary stories for rainy nights until I was well into my own adulthood. I'd already fostered a rather prfound dislike for both humans and demons by the time I read through his works again, but I found in my old Master's recollections far more wisdom than I initially expected. His writings are all, I think, directed towards the central thesis that every individual is an essential part of the same world and, as such, we require one another's existence for sheer survival. Cooperation instead of competition, a hidden layer to the natural order of things that many would find naive, the belief that true balance can be achieved here, in this life. Demons and their dominion over nature is integrally linked, in my Master's opinion, to humans and their command of the environment. He was fascinated by the jinchuuriki, a being most of my sect find distasteful to say the least, because it represented a kind of harmony between the powers of ancient elemental forces and mankind, a sort of middle ground in an endless war. Koumyou implied, because the man never actually said anything outright, that man and demon rely upon eachother for mutual evolutionary success and that only balance between human interests and the preservation of nature can save either species. In the end, he believed that neither man nor beast can thrive without a deep and profound respect for eachother and, that with that respect, peace, even between such disparate forces, was possible. My Master often said that peace was the natural state of the universe and that the solace we glean from one another is the truest evidence of our potential for enlightenment. I do not believe in attachments, few real Buddhists do, but his argument is still compelling. Even from the grave, Koumyou retains the power to make me question myself and my own motivations. If peace is really possible, I have acted against the order of the universe, and yet served its purpose all the same. It's irksome to think about, especially because if my Master is correct in his philosophies, the very people I've brushed aside were the only real salvation. Perhaps its time to stop hiding behind Buddhist dogma that I barely believe and my own prudishness, perhaps loving someone is the very opposite of sin. Either way, the irony of it makes for an interesting conundrum. Both chastisement and absolution, a decade after his death and out of a book about weird, foreign demons. It's certainly something only Koumyou could have managed.

-Genjo Sanzo, the 31st Collected Writings

Tsunade would later say that the birth of Sakura's child was an easy one, all things considered, and especially since the entire labor and delivery happened at home, in the family bath and in the company of four blood-soaked ninja fresh from the battlefield. The Hokage did what she could to stabilize Sakura's contractions and ease the young woman's pain, but in the end the only way the child would come into the world was through the genius of Sasuke Uchiha and Neji Hyuuga or a gruesome surgery. Given the options, the Hokage chose to wait. The hours crawled by, longer for the fact that she spent every moment wondering if she should intervene, if she should do as the situation would normally dictate and tear the child out of her student's body by force. The difference being, of course, that Sakura's body would not just open to the scalpal as a normal woman's would and shredding her apart again and again was not an option Tsunade was willing to entertain. Not yet anyway.

She cooed and calmed and used strong muscle relaxants to cease the labor for a few precious minutes so Sakura could rest, but the little life within her was shockingly independent of its mother and the labor progressed despite her efforts. As young women during their first labor went, Sakura tolerated everything well, staying calm and following what few directions Tsunade could give without hysteria or more than the token complaint. She was in pain and afraid, but the baby's vital signs remained reassuring and Sakura herself was far too tough to go shocky even with her body trying it's best to bludgeon the child like a battering ram against her cervix. Her water was unbroken and, against all odds, neither mother nor child seemed unduly stressed, so Tsunade waited and hoped.

Many years had passed since the Hokage had actively tried to have faith in anything, much less the esoteric notions of a god, but pragmatism only went so far and she was tired of feeling completely helpless. She knew Naruto and even if the possibility of help from unseen forces was a naive wish, Naruto was a real person, one of her own ninja, and she at least believed that the jinchuuriki would do as he promised. He would return, he would order Sasuke or Neji to return Sakura's energy to its normal path, and everyone would be fine. She took a breath. The kitsune could be counted upon to do as he said or die trying and as long as Sakura remained breathing, pushing, cranky and alive, so was he. Hiashi Hyuuga was a bitter old monster, but no match for the power of a demon vessel and two genius subordinates.

Even so, she heaved a sigh of relief that was closer to a sob than she would have liked to admit when Sakura's head popped up and the girl smiled with relief. They were connected she knew and her suspicions were confirmed when Sakura began speaking in a rush, the names of her mates coming to her lips like a sutra, calling out to them across the distance.

"Naruto's coming! He knows…he feels…they're alive! They're all alive! Alive!" Sakura shouted, losing her composure.

"They're tough boys." Tsunade agreed, allowing herself an entire heartbeat to simply close her eyes and savor the fact that her little blond menace was still alive and on his way home to help them.

From Sakura's expression, she could only assume Neji and Sasuke were alive as well, but the name Sakura murmured over and over again was Sai's. The artist was still freshly dead and Sakura was very tired, but there was something more than passingly peculiar about it.

"Sai? What about him?" The Hokage asked, trying for clarity at least.

"Sai's coming! He's with them!" Sakura said, voice so intense that it was almost a snarl.

"Sai's dead. You buried him." Tsunade argued mildly, but Sakura wasn't listening to her.

"Sai…he's here!" Sakura whispered, eyes almost glazed.

The girl just kept repeating Sai's name under her breath, chanting the word like a spell, her eyes alight with ferocious joy. Tsunade wondered, biting her thumb a bit, but whatever the trance was, it wasn't hurting the young matriarch and she didn't have the luxury of worrying about both Sakura's mind and her body. Sakura smiled, looking past her, eerily aware of her mate in a way no human had any right to be. As the fires began to die and the first wan rays of dawn began to glow in the sky, the men of the Uzumaki clan returned home, recoiling like all the other shadows from the stark rays of sunlight. They crept into the house, quiet despite making no effort to mask the noise, Sasuke holding someone in his arms and Naruto holding Neji. When the Hokage looked closely, peering through the twilight…she shook her head.

The face was decorated with bright blue markings, clearly demon, and a long, soft-looking tail was coiled tightly around Sasuke's left wrist, but when the person turned a bit to face Sakura she recognized him immediately. Tsunade's jaw dropped. Sai was alive, apparently, as well as mostly hysterical, psychologically paralyzed and a hanyou, which was simply too much information for Tsunade to easily make any sense out of. She shook her head, resisting the urge to point like an idiot. Sasuke smiled a little, just the barest twitch of his lips and Naruto let his eyes rest on Sai with the weight of both love and grief. She looked at the artist, saw his living, breathing, weeping body with her own eyes, and chose to look past and on to the next task. Sai was a mess, but he was far beyond her abilities and she had other things to do. She gestured to Sakura where Sakura struggled, the movement of her hand terse.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked immediately.

"It hurts!" Sakura snarled, baring her teeth. Neji stirred at the sound of her voice.

"Isn't it supposed to?" Sai whimpered, cocking his head in confusion.

"Sakura! Oh! Oh Kami, put me down!" Neji cried and his face tensed with the activation of the Byukugan.

"Yeah, okay! Stop wriggling! What's going on!?" Naruto huffed, gripping the Hyuuga tighter despite his words.

"Her energy…" Neji hissed.

"Shit." Sasuke muttered, eyes lighting with the Sharingan like two red lanterns in the darkness.

No one said anything else. Tsunade crossed her arms, watching with just a bit of sadistic satisfaction as their eyes widened huge as saucers at the spectacle of one terrified girl desperately trying to give birth through a chakra block. They moved into the room, trying to rush and yet too weak to make more than a rather pathetic attempt at it. Tsunade was too stunned to speak, both by the fact that Neji was clearly blind except for his bloodline talent and the blunt indication that he'd suffered a stroke. Sai raised his head, lips pale and cheeks flushed with his still spilling tears. Sasuke was...well...other than still being an unstable and extremely dangerous homicidal maniac, he was probably fine. Tsunade shook her head. They limped closer, kicking shoes off, looking like the last, desperate survivors of a natural disaster with their eyes too wide and filled with shadows that hadn't been there before.

Sakura looked at Naruto, met his eyes, and Tsunade expected her favorite student to shout at him, maybe throw something. Instead, the exhausted, agonized, sweat-soaked young matriarch simply opened her arms and allowed her husbands to fall into her embrace as if doing so was the most natural thing in the world. Neji writhed out of Naruto's arms, dragging himself towards Sakura with the determination of a salmon swimming upriver, but soon Sasuke was with him and together they managed to reach the bed without forcing Tsunade to intervene. The whole scene felt like something much too private and she resisted the urge to turn away.

The Hokage had fully intended to give the jinchuuriki the tongue-lashing of his life and even a few good smacks for leaving his wife alone in such condition, but she never really got the chance. One moment, Naruto was looking at her from across the darkened bedroom with Neji half-hanging from his arms, the next all of them were piling onto the bed. The four of them crawled, wriggled and writhed in whatever way their bodies still allowed, crowding as close to Sakura as they could, not speaking. Frowning, Tsunade approached them. She tried to touch Naruto's shoulder, but the look the jinchuuriki cast up to her, demon-lit blue eyes glowing with enough primal ferocity to melt steel, was more than enough to convince Tsunade her role in all this was over. They were moving into a place she could not follow, a more primitive state of mind much closer to the ancient demon caged in Naruto's soul and governed solely by instinct.

The Hokage folded her hands meekly, retreating, but not leaving entirely. Sakura might still need her and she felt that Naruto would at least tolerate her presence, if not her help. Sakura groaned in pain and the subordinates echoed the noise in a wierd show of synchrony, heads thrown back even as they pressed closer against her. There was an animalness to the way they moved with her, like bees cleaving to their queen, eyes half-lidded and only partially aware. Sai wasn't crying anymore, his breath and body quieted by a power more profound than any she was privy to. Tsunade swallowed against her dry throat. The three captive males were rapidly falling into a trance even as they touched Sakura, affected by their alpha female's labor in some deeper, more visceral way than Naruto was. They groaned again, the sound soft and resonant with so many voices. The family moved together, embracing as one and Tsunade relaxed in the knowledge that she was very much forgotten.

Neji and Sasuke kissed, tongues dancing, hands locked together across Sakura's heaving belly. As one they released the jutsu binding Sakura's chakra, moving with perfect accuracy across her meridians, unlocking the energy almost without looking as their fingers flashed through each gesture. Sakura cried out as her energy flowed back into her own organs again, teeth grit together, but Naruto was already holding her, stroking her heaving body with the same magnetic rhythm that moved them all. As one the pack stood, holding Sakura between them with Neji braced against her, a single beast with ten, caressing arms. Sai was standing, walking, his posture firm and solid and whatever emotion still tormenting him firmly locked away. Naruto kissed Sakura, his lips apologetic and his hands worshipful, touching her throat, her breasts the same way someone might rub an idol.

They undressed on the way, tossing clothing, weapons and the occasional undetonated explosive carelessly to the side as they went, always touching. Sai was kissing Sakura now, the tears on his cheeks falling against her eyelids and the tiny fangs in his mouth gentle against her lips. They hummed, all of them, Sasuke sinking to his knees to nuzzle affectionately against Neji's hip and Sakura's knee only to rise again as they walked. Naruto lifted her, lifted all of them somehow, hands cupped around Sakura's swollen breasts as though he'd never left her side. Tsunade trailed them all slowly, keeping her distance and well aware that a jinchuuriki pack in such a state was not something to trifle with lightly if one enjoyed keeping all of their limbs. They moaned, the sound equal parts pain and inhuman pleasure, moving inexorably down the hallway and towards the bath. The Hokage smirked.

Somehow, the woman had known that a water birth was probably going to be the best way to handle the situation and she'd already had the large, family bath cleaned, filled and waiting in the event that Sakura did manage to deliver naturally. Stepping delicately over the discarded clothing and weaponry, the Hokage followed at a distance. Her student was likely going to be fine and, at any rate, she wasn't entirely sure what she could do, but her inherent curiosity was piqued now. Tsunade had never seen a jinchuuriki pack give birth and she would be damned to miss an opportunity like this one for the sake of something stupid like propriety.

OoOoOoO

The hazy softness of everything was almost like being drunk, Sai decided, only his mind wasn't actually impaired and, instead of feeling dizzy and indistinct, everything just felt like Sakura. He felt her in his veins, flowing with his blood, and in the newfound strength of his fingers as he helped Naruto hold her, move her, guide her into the hot water so they could be weightless. Sai knew that the sensation wasn't quite the same for the others, for Neji and for Sasuke, and that they were completely lost to the ebb and sway of her, but he was still aware. The artist lived in the thrall, but in some ways he still retained the freedom to leave if he chose, to step back. His demon heritage gave him the autonomy needed to maintain an ounce of control. He exerted that special privilege now so that he could see her, so that he could speak to her when the others could only moan. Sakura drove the pain and crying back from inside him, washing it away with the feeling of her love, of herself, and he was much too grateful to fall beneath the comfortable weight of the heat in his spirit just yet.

Her body was hurting, too tight, and the others were already moving, coating their fingers in slippery mineral oil that someone had left for them. They moved with the wisdom of something deeper and even though his logical mind knew that this was seriously not the moment, Sai was harder than he'd ever been in his life. Neji pushed fingers into her, rubbing, stroking deeply with his left hand and in another breath Sasuke joined him, massaging the straining skin of her entrance so that their child could pass through. Sakura's breath hitched and she sighed a little, shaking in a way that seemed to settle into their very bones, the weight of her body eased by the water and more comfortable than she'd been in hours. Naruto was saying something, something soft and encouraging, as he rubbed her belly up and down with strong, sure strokes of his hands. They were all moving in the water and the heat of it combined with the momentum of so many people felt oddly chaotic, rhythmic like sex or maybe like the beating of a heart, Sai wasn't sure.

Sakura bit her lip, but the cry came anyway, echoing through all of them and Sai couldn't resist the compulsion to shriek along with her. His skin was flushed and he was sweating, panting with her. The elegant muscle in her strong legs moved, jumping as she shifted, trying to relax her spine even as the baby moved her tailbone back. Sai could feel the pain of it, of her lower back jerking tight with the unnatural movement, trying to relieve the pressure without any end in sight. The ruddy glow of her skin with the exertion was gorgeous, and the artist managed the presence of mind to gather her hair and weave it into a tight braid to keep it out of her face. Sakura glanced at him, green eyes bright and hot and grateful that at least one of them was still sane enough to notice and the love swelled so deeply in him then that Sai thought his heart might actually explode. Naruto was supporting her back with his knees, fully focused on kneading the stubborn muscles around her spine loose, one hand a cushion behind her neck. Sai moved, drawn like a magnet into the vacated space behind her, wrapping her in his arms.

Her breasts were large, soft and buoyant in the water, drifting softly against his the skin of his arms in a fleeting caress. He moved, pulling her into his lap, the pert firmness of her buttocks quivering against his own thighs. Sakura grit her teeth. She was in pain. Whispering completely meaningless words to her that were probably closer to gibberish than real language, Sai gripped her belly with his free hand. He rubbed as Naruto had before, digging in with his fingers into the crease of her hip to free the ligament there. She winced, tears streaming from her eyes, but the muscle slowly began to loosen.

"It's okay baby, it's okay…" Naruto was saying, dragging his hands in firm motions along her spine.

"Can I…Can I push?" She panted.

"Check her cervix." Someone said softly, Sai wasn't sure who.

Naruto moved at the suggestion, pushing between Sasuke and Neji's rubbing hands and deep to feel. He swallowed, shook his head. Sakura huffed and groaned unhappily, the sound escaping all their throats as one. Like someone walking in a dream, Sasuke stood and moved to penetrate her, bucking his hips slowly against her in the water untilhe was inside. Sakura gasped at the feel of him, her arms strong, beautifully muscular and too tight around Sai's own, but Sasuke didn't stop. Belly rippling, he thrust into her, the strong fingers of Sasuke's right hand still working below beside Neji's even as he gripped her hips tight to his own with his left. Sakura closed her eyes and moaned, the sound filled with pleasure instead of pain, rocking eagerly against him and it was the most lovely, perfect, amazing, erotic thing that Sai had ever seen. Like a wave made of warm, melted honey and a bit of lightning, Sai felt the urge to fill her as well, to feel the slick glide of her intimate body against his own. Eyes fluttering closed, he moaned at the feel of the compulsion alone and felt the sound echoed in all the others as well.

Naruto settled behind her, supporting her with his arms and legs in the water, kissing her cheek and neck and ears. Sasuke was still loving her, the muscles in his arms jumping with the effort of moving so slowly, and with a shift and another bit of writhing Naruto was in her as well, moving from behind. Sakura yelped and Sai's teeth chattered, worried that it was too much, that they were hurting her, but then the tightness in her belly eased and she sighed between them. The sex was good, he could feel it now where he sat supporting her shoulders and watching her breasts bounce against his waiting hands. Sai's legs were tangled up with Naruto's, and the feeling of him was good even if confusing and the weight of their love and Sakura's everything was slowly pulling him under. He gasped, feeling the pleasure swell in him as the girl in his arms trembled and moaned.

Sakura closed her emerald eyes, dug her fingers into Sai's hair with one hand and Naruto's with the other and came, the force of it moving through all of them like a locomotive barreling through a snowstorm. There was a rush of fluid, another current in the water, between her legs and suddenly the overwhelming coercion in the thrall was too strong to ignore or escape from. He couldn't resist anymore, the thrumming instinct to touch her, to make the way open and soft. Leaving her shoulders in Naruto's hands, Sai drifted, turning, falling to his knees like a worshipper overwhelmed by prayer. The trance was reaching him, a glittering veil over his eyes and aching sensuality in his muscles, body no longer his own. Wetting his lips, Sai soaked his own hands in the clear oil before pressing against her beneath the water, fingers probing, moving with Neji to open her body so that the delicate flesh wouldn't tear.

Sasuke withdrew from her, his member soft and then there was the warm fluid of his ejaculate flowing smokily between Sai's fingers and something like that shouldn't be so erotic and yet it was. Breath catching, Neji moaned against Sai's shoulder, setting his lips against Sai's trembling neck, moving until the hanyou was trapped in the Hyuuga's embrace just as surely as Sakura had been in his own. They breathed and, together, moved to open her. Hands clasped, fingers entwined, Neji and Sai massaged her taught flesh as one and every touch was pleasure beyond imagination. Naruto was still thrusting slowly, deliberately, into Sakura's vagina and they could feel him there too, but now there was so much more space. Sai felt his body tighten and sing with a deep cord of pleasure as Sakura came again, the artist throwing his head back against Neji's shoulder with an ecstatic cry filled with the voices of everyone he loved.

For hours that felt like moments they moved and squeezed and loved her, making her body loose, soft, and as relaxed as possible, and for moments that felt like hours they shared her pain and cried out with her struggle. Linked, living inside each other, they breathed and undulated and Sai was lost in the current of it all, mind drowsy and body filled with more than his own will. There were hands everywhere, semen mixing with oil, and suddenly Neji was pushing forward with his hand in a way that was more purposeful than what he had been doing before. Sakura groaned, he was hurting her, but the truth that this action was directed and necessary rumbled through Sai and he didn't even think to intervene. With a tremble and a gasp, Sakura arched her back and made more room. Sakura's soft body took Neji's fingers and then his hand, engulfed him up to the wrist and Sai could only stare. Neji felt deep into her body, searching a little, and suddenly within Sai's fevered awareness, within all of them, the feeling came like a resonant bell in a temple service. She was ready.

It was only as an afterthought, shallow and unimportant, that Sai noticed that Neji was touching Sakura with both hands. The artist blinked, the small sliver of his mind that was still his own and thinking, not wrapped in the thrall too note. In the trance, the brunette could use both his hands and that made an odd kind of sense, really.

OoOoOoO

Sasuke felt drugged, his mind crawling, reacting only on instinct, but the haze was not unpleasant. If anything, he felt like a swimmer caught by the currents of a vast and warm river or perhaps one of the mad dancers who performed for rituals in Grass country, so possessed by the rhythm that they forgot to be human. He wasn't human. Not now anyway and Sasuke couldn't really define what he was, but the only word that even came close was love. There was love in his mind, love so all-encompassing that even the memory of battle and pain and all the fear felt lost, fragile, and brittle. Like a sapling scorched in a prairie fire, only the last vestiges of its blackened body to hold shape, the memory of his suffering became insubstantial. The memory of all suffering was insubstantial.

Sasuke was aware, his mind was not altered per se, but the taste of Sakura's skin, the feel of her slickened passage, the heaving of her breasts and the sound of her breathing was somehow far more important. Everything else in the world faded away to nothingness. He felt her labor too, the pain in his body alien, but forceful when it came and he moved with forces far beyond anything in his own meager, human motivations. He felt the pressure, the stretched skin and bruised nerves and his voice cried along with her, sounding strange and almost unfamiliar in his own ears. With each orgasm, her body opened, her cervix growing thin, soft, transparent and he could feel their daughter's head with his fingers when he pushed deep.

Sakura was pushing now, pushing hard and the baby's skull moved with each contraction, filling his palm. Naruto was holding her legs, holding her body against his chest so that she couldn't drift too much in the water and Sai was holding her hips at the right angle beneath the oily water. Neji was beside him, still rubbing, finding points of tension with his wise fingers and massaging the strain away so that Sakura's body could stretch instead of tear. Sasuke thought he had time, the rhythm of her contractions was almost hypnotic and the birth felt like it would just go on forever. His sense of the hours was silent, everything attune to the rise and fall of Sakura's body, the pain and pleasure, the tension and release. He took a breath and suddenly there was a rush against his hands and the baby was just there. Sasuke might have been startled, but he was so full of the feeling, the blessed relief from the torturous pressure that all he could do was moan with it and try to remember how to breathe.

After a single moment of synchronized quivering, Neji's hands came beneath his own and forced the small, wriggling child up to the surface so she could breath. There was another pair of hands, not as wet or bloody as his own, suctioning fluid out of the baby's mouth and nose. The hands were long, lean, and not familiar, but Sasuke was much too occupied to really notice or care. Naruto was kissing Sakura, mouth moving against her shaking lips and Sai was tying a neat knot in the cord, readying his claws to cut the baby free of the womb, but Neji was still. Neji was watching with the Byukugan and he was seeing something. The Hyuuga's eyes were wide and his face very pale. With a start, Sasuke pulled the baby against his chest protectively, a hard bolt of panic spiking through his belly as the little creature began to wail in earnest.

"Let me see her." Neji whispered. Sai looked at him questioningly.

"No." Sasuke whispered, shaking his head, the warm haze slowly clearing.

"No." Sai said, the voice firm and very much his own.

"Allow it." Naruto rumbled, blue eyes warm and indulgent over the top of Sakura's head.

"Please." Neji whispered gently, "I have to see it for myself."

Sasuke hesitated fighting the thrall a moment longer than any other time in his life, but even without the compulsion he knew that Neji wouldn't hurt her. The black-haired subordinate crouched back into the warmth of the water, slowly passing the sneezing baby over to Neji's waiting arms. He wasn't afraid, not really, but there was an ache in letting go of her. He wanted to hold her forever. The Hyuuga caught the child in his left hand, the other not quite moving and really just a guard to help him hold her closer, silver eyes moving, squinting. Sasuke activated his own Sharingan and gasped at the bright light glowing from his newborn daughter, light so brilliant that he almost couldn't bear to look at her directly. Neji cuddled the baby, pillowing her soft, pink-fuzzed head against his chest and slowly the light began to settle a bit, dimming enough to see… He gasped.

"Naruto." Sasuke whispered, eyes fixed.

"What? What's wrong!?" Naruto asked, voice high with worry and the thrall suddenly taught with fear.

Sasuke shivered and shook his head, feeling hypersensitive, like he might just start crying for no reason at all. He reached for her, for their baby, fingers alighting on the chubby roundness of her little belly and the sparkling, circular mark residing there. Beneath, he could see it, the shape of the tiny fox-kit curled up inside the chi nest and yawning. He allowed just the tiniest bit of chakra touch the creature and it stirred, affectionate, reaching back for the energy in his hand with a tiny paw of pure life energy. Sasuke's breath hitched and then he was sobbing.

"Oh…Oh Kami!" Neji whispered, reaching to touch the little demon too, smiling when the creature darted out a little chakra tongue to lap at the energy he sent towards it.

"My…My baby?" Sakura whimpered, worried.

"What! What! What's wrong! Tell me!" Naruto pleaded, nearly shouting.

"Our babies, Naruto, our babies are fine." Sasuke said softly, staring.

"Excuse me?" Sai asked, raising an eyebrow.

OoOoOoO

"She's a jinchuuriki." Neji whispered, voice soft with awe as he gazed into a set of blue eyes almost identical to Naruto's.

"That's…That's impossible." Naruto whispered, holding his head in a way all of them recognized as an indication that the Fox was making a racket.

"Regardless, the demon is there, already within her." Sasuke said.

"Is she possessed?" Sakura asked, voice raw with terror.

"No." Neji replied with a giggle, "No the two of them are very much at peace."

The baby fussed, shaking her tiny fists and began crying in earnest. Neji settled her closer against his chest, his paralyzed right hand little more than a ballast to keep the infant in his arms, but at least kneeling upright was possible in the water. The baby, their baby, was clearly Naruto's child with Sakura, but even now there were things about her that reminded him of Sasuke too. The child had a presence, a way of trying to look through his face and into something deeper, that no newborn infant should without a latent visual ability. Hyuuga babies were, he was told, the same way. He petted her, pondering the dark rose shade of her hair. Dry, the downy fuzz would probably be pink, but much darker than Sakura's. He wondered if the color would stay that way. The blue of her eyes, though, was just like Naruto's own azure stare, a perfect blue, unclouded by newness the way most baby's eyes were and that was just another sign that the infant was more than what she seemed.

Even though there was nothing in her of him, or Sai for that matter, Neji thought she was beautiful. He'd watched her for so long already, watched her sleep in Sakura's womb, and even though he had no right, Neji almost felt like he knew her. She was a new power in the world, something that had never been before, and that thought should have made him proud. Instead, the idea that the tiny child gurgling in his arms might one day have to carry that weight, any weight, was terrifying. She was so small, just one little baby, and he wanted her to be safe.

"Her name, it's Mikoto…" Sakura whispered, lips trembling with fatigue.

"But…" Sasuke argued, looking almost afraid.

"It's perfect," Naruto said, gazing at the child.

"She shouldn't have that name! She shouldn't have a name with so much…" Sasuke shook his head, "It isn't fair. My mother wouldn't have wanted anyone to be burdened with her memory."

"As one matriarch to another, Sasuke, I think she would have been proud." Sakura said, panting with the effort of forming the words.

The argument apparently finished, the others turned towards the task of making sure everyone was clean, warm and conscious enough not to drown. Moving carefully, Sasuke dragged himself over to the hot-water pipe and turned it on, nearly panting with the effort. Neji shuddered in sympathy. Truly, he had never felt more exhausted in his life and even doing little things like holding Mikoto was enough to make his arms tremble. The Hyuuga's vision was still dim, but he could see well enough now to recognize shapes in familiar places and he knew when to move so that the freshly warm water wouldn't be too warm for the baby. Sai washed Sakura's hair and his own before taking their woman into his arms so Naruto could do the same. Tsunade, who was weirdly still there, helped Sakura deliver the afterbirth and checked to make sure the placenta was intact, nothing left clinging in her womb. No one said anything until Sai lost the magical calm that had come over all of them and slowly started weeping again. As if on cue, Mikoto started bawling as well.

"She's hungry, Hyuuga. Give the baby to Sakura." Tsunade ordered tersely and Neji stirred himself.

"Sorry," He whispered as he handed the little blue-eyed, pink-haired impossibility into Sakura's waiting arms.

Letting the baby go, even though he wasn't really her father and had no hope of nourishing her, was still hard in a way the silver eyed genius hadn't expected. Holding her, listening to her, even for just a moment made it feel like she was his too. Neji watched Sakura wince as the baby latched on to nurse and slowly allowed himself to collapse back against the edge of the tub, feeling dizzy and weak. Naruto was frowning, probably carrying on some internal argument with Kyuubi, and Sai was almost prostrate with emotional pain once again, but everyone was alive and that was more than he'd ever hoped for. They were his family, and they needed him to keep breathing.

"There are two of them, our child and the tiny fox born with her." Sasuke asserted, pointing to the seal on the child's belly. Naruto looked a little scared.

"Kyuubi says the new one, the baby Fox, should be called Inari and that it is a spirit of electricity…lightning I should say, but Mikoto will probably be a wind nin." Naruto said, scowling in puzzlement.

"Of lightning? That's not an element, just a sub-property of fire. Mastery of lightning means she's a fire nin. The stupid Fox is confused." Sasuke sneered, raising an eyebrow.

"I know I'm confused." Tsunade sighed, crossing her arms over her generous bosom.

"Sasuke, honey, just deal with the fact that neither of them are fire nin." Sakura sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Wind's my favorite element…" Sai snuffled, stroking the baby's belly even as he cried.

"Course it is." Naruto cooed, kissing him, a tired smile on his lips. Sasuke scowled.

"Ugh! No one cares what your favorite is, Sai! And I don't actually care either, morons! I just don't want everyone walking around hopelessly confused. Lightning isn't an element, your own stupid pervert master said so, Naruto!" Sasuke snapped tiredly.

"Apparently," Naruto argued imperiously, "The fact that Inari exists, that she has been born, makes lightning an element, Teme."

"That's fucking stupid." Sasuke snapped half-heartedly, rubbing his eyes.

"Don't curse around her." Neji sniped.

"Shut-up Hyuuga." Sasuke huffed.

"The whole thing is stupid! You can't make another being from nothing!" Tsunade hissed, draining the tub.

"We didn't." Naruto replied, eyes hooded and tone a tad deeper and more primal than his own voice, "Kyuubi's energy is compatible with Sakura's in a way that…that neither of us really understands."

"One jinchuuriki born from another…" Neji whispered as he tried to stay awake.

OoOoOoO

Kiba stood guard most of the night, too nervous to sleep, and even after almost two days without rest he barely managed more than a few hours of restful sleep before waking again. Two days passed and there was nothing from Naruto; not a threat or a message or even the whisper of what the jinchuuriki's intentions might be. What few survivors managed to drag themselves away from the Hyuuga compound said things that only made sense if you were half-crazy and believed in ghosts, but they all agreed that the kitsune and his pack had survived the invasion. Hiashi, however, was very much dead and Kiba had taken a close enough look at the man's corpse to know that whoever killed him wasn't willing to take any chances. Anyone who killed an enemy like that wasn't going to tolerate any loose ends for long and so Kiba paced and waited, slept in his armor and left his bags packed by the door.

Both Granny and Hinata managed to project utter control and calm, drinking tea together with heads close in quiet conversation, while he worked on wearing a hole into the floor and into his stomach too, appetite less and less as time crawled on. Their apparently effortless ease and placid authority was both soothing and distinctly unfair, but Kiba had resigned himself long ago to dealing with the peculiarities of matriarchs. Instead of attempting the futile task of copying their example, Kiba spent his time training, trying to work the stress out of his body even as the tension continued to build in his mind. Naruto wasn't attacking, which was good, but his old friend wasn't talking either and every summons he sent to the Uchiha mansion returned without any success at speaking to any of them.

By the sun's zenith on the third day, Kiba was more than prepared to hear the jinchuuriki's terms, but he was not prepared for how the message came to them or what Naruto's demands would be. One moment he was brushing Akamaru's fur outside the main compound gate, and the next he was face to face with Sasuke Uchiha, dressed in formal garb and looking just as sleepless as he was. Even with the lower half of his face covered by a loose, silk mask emblazoned with the orange Uzumaki whirl, Sasuke's expression was enough to give him pause. The subordinate bowed to him, his eyes and posture weirdly empty for once, the normal haughty abrasiveness replaced with a quiet kind of impatience. The bright orange and black of Sasuke's garments only served to make him look more ghastly and for a single, terrifying moment Kiba had to shake the specter of Itachi away from his mind. Kiba rose and bowed in return, waiting for the others, but Sasuke came alone without even a servant to accompany him.

"My Master sends his regards to your matriarch." Sasuke whispered, inclining his head respectfully, "He would bring the matter of this clan war to and end. Is your wife available to talk?"

"Yeah, I mean y...yes! Yes! Yes, of course!" Kiba stammered, gesturing towards the main house entrance.

"Thank you." Sasuke muttered and followed him inside.

They walked, side by side, saying absolutely nothing. Kiba noted how pale Sasuke looked and the bloodshot redness of his eyes, a symptom of both fatigue and probably weeping too, but managed to bite his tongue about the other man's appearance. A hush fell over the surviving Hyuuga refugees as the darksome killer passed, their frightened eyes turning to Kiba, but he had nothing to offer his people yet. If Hinata had a bargaining chip, he had no idea what it was and even the Konoha council would be no help mediating a clanwar that was very clearly instigated by the Hyuuga household. Kiba would have supposed that if Naruto meant to make war on them, he would have already done so by now, but a few weeks ago he also would have bet money that Naruto would never take part in the eradication of an entire house. Swallowing silently, Kiba showed Sasuke to the main reception chamber, ordered tea to be brought and tried to think of something to say.

"There are more survivors than I expected. You and Hinata are impressively resourceful." Sasuke said, his tone empty and mild. Kiba licked his lips.

"Mostly just women and children, no one of any importance." Kiba replied, nervously.

"Just the heirs." Sasuke said, eyes shifting to look at him, the sharingan irises red on red against the raw looking field of his sclera.

"Yes." Kiba said, wondering if he'd been lured into admitting something.

He couldn't decide what it meant, having Sasuke, Naruto's most feared subordinate come to the Inuzuka compound alone, but he couldn't imagine that the gesture meant anything good. Sasuke, for his part, folded his hands into his sleeves and waited patiently while Granny, Hanabi and Hinata moved into the main reception chamber, kneeling on the furry cushions as if he would be content to wait forever. When the door opened, Hinata was the first to sink to her knees and bow low before him, Kiba and Hanabi following her example in the next breath. Granny, of course, did no such thing. Sasuke did not return Kiba's wife's bow, instead turning his eyes to the Inuzuka matriarch as if the Hyuuga princesses were not there. It was an insult, but also expected of a victor addressing the conquered. Kiba bit his lip.

"Thank you for recieving me." The raven haired menace said, standing smoothly and bowing at the waist before Granny.

"I'd say it's a pleasure, but of course this is not a social visit." Granny said with a sigh, leaning on her staff.

"No. It is not." Sasuke said, taking a breath as if the whole conversation was fatiguing him, "I come from Naruto with the terms of clan Hyuuga's surrender."

"I do not speak for Hyuuga, I merely shelter those without guilt when I can. Though, I owe house Uzumaki much, even more now that Hiashi is dead, and you may tell your Master that clan Inuzuka is fully at his service whenever he may ask." Granny replied, settling herself down onto the cushions.

"We are grateful, but please know that any interference in the resolution of this conflict will be considered an act of war against clan Uzumaki." Sasuke said, sitting as well, voice cold and eyes narrow.

"We have no intention to fight you, but the people in this house are under my protection and shall remain so until they choose to leave these grounds. Is Naruto prepared to mount a seige?" Granny asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We will eliminate all threats to our home and mate, no matter what action is required." Sasuke hissed.

"There are no threats to you here." Granny said, raspy voice kind and yet filled with authority.

"That has yet to be seen." Sasuke returned, inclining his head in a small show of deference, "Please know that my alpha is not interested in war with Inuzuka. He has instructed me to relay that we do not consider Kiba Inuzuka to be an enemy in league with Hiashi and that any negotiations henceforth need not involve him."

"Tch, I can't help, but be involved!" Kiba snapped.

"Then you must make your own choices." Sasuke sighed, closing his eyes for just a moment.

"Truly, Sasuke, can these negotations wait? You look terrible." Granny said, shaking her head.

"I fare better than most and an expedient truce benefits us all." The subordinate replied, folding his hands once again.

"Well said. I hope we can conclude this quickly so you can return home to look after your family. Jinchuuriki are tough and I wouldn't have suspected the pack to still be suffering so after so many days." The Inuzuka matriarch said, nonchalantly pouring herself a cup to tea.

"We are more than capable of repelling any attack, make no mistake." Sasuke hissed, eyes hostile slits once again.

"Calm yourself child, that isn't what I meant." Granny said gently.

Mildly abashed, Sasuke looked away, taking a sip of his own tea in a less-than-subtle show of trust and repentance. Kiba glanced to Hinata, but the young woman was still pressed in a low bow, waiting for Sasuke to acknowledge her, as protocol demanded. After another tense heartbeat, Sasuke shifted his weight to face the Hyuuga princess and gestured with a finger for her to rise. The callousness of it made Kiba's blood boil, but a single glance from Granny stilled any words in his throat before he could even utter them. Hinata rose to a sitting position, her posture dignified and closed, regarding their deadly messenger without any trace of discomfort. Sasuke folded his hands again, fingers stuffed back into his own sleeves, which were, no doubt, filled with weapons. Hanabi shivered, making a small noise of terror even as she remained crouched against the floor.

The black haired murderer glanced at the younger heiress, lips pressed together in a tense line and, for a moment, the look in his eyes was almost pitying. For the notorious killer to show anything like sympathy for the plight of vanquished enemies was so totally at odds with the man's personality that Kiba could only stare. Like a shadow at noon, the look passed and Sasuke's expression smoothed into careful neutrality once again, eyes fixed to Hinata's face.

"Lady Hinata Hyuuga: I carry a message from my alpha regarding the crimes committed by your clan-head, which I shall deliver now. Naruto Uzumaki sends you his regards and wishes you to know that Hiashi Hyuuga and every other living person found by our forces within your home compound has been killed as promised five days prior. No prisoners were taken." Sasuke said, voice low and soft despite the coldness of the words.

"Understood." Hinata replied, her tone as empty as her eyes.

Kiba felt his throat tighten, trying not to think about those left behind, people who he would probably never see alive again. There had been a few dozen smoke-stained soldiers who trickled into the Inuzuka compound throughout the night of the battle, but no new survivors had managed to make contact in more than a day. The dog lord bit his lip unhappily. He'd hoped that with a truce, he might be permitted to rescue anyone else left alive in the compound with a thorough search. Nin were resourceful and even people trapped or badly injured might still be alive days later, he wouldn't know unless they looked. Hinata's own mother might still be there, trapped and suffocating for all they knew. He couldn't really believe that Naruto would be savage enough to comb the wreckage for casualties only to dispatch them, but Kiba knew his friend was capable of much more than he'd thought before.

"You...have you hunted down and dispatched the injured as well?" Kiba asked, voice rough with emotion.

"Quiet, pup! You speak out of turn!" Granny snarled, Kiba bared his teeth at her.

"We need to know!" Kiba snapped.

"Those we found were killed as per our original statement. A directed search was not performed, however." Sasuke said, glancing pointedly at Kiba.

The Dog Lord knew he was being offered something in that look, a kind of assurance that Naruto had not, in fact, lost his shit completely and performed mass genocide. From the way Sasuke described the battle, they had killed anything dumb enough to throw itself into their path, nothing more. There very well might be survivors, which would not have been the case in a feud against Nara or even his own family if Kiba really thought about it. Sasuke was trying to maintain control of the talks and not give ground, but Naruto had already given them far more leeway than any other clan-head would.

"Please continue." Hinata said, bowing again. Kiba averted his eyes.

"The compound is destroyed and we will destroy anyone found within its wall until a truce has been reached. Our actions were in response to the unprovoked aggression visited on us by House Hyuuga, acts which can only be interpreted as a full and directed assault with the aim of clan annihilation. We have taken no action to hunt down survivors, but we will not hesitate to do so should our holdings be threatened again. Continued resistance will be met with equal force." Sasuke said, baring his teeth to emphasize the statement. Hinata nodded.

"I am well aware of the nature of my father's crimes and I have no intention to continue his campaign. I will, however, do what I can to protect the lives of those who had no part in the assault on your territory." Hinata replied evenly.

"Given that we have not, actually, suffered any casualties, my alpha is willing to parlay and resolve the conflict without more blood. That being said," Sasuke added, holding up a quelling hand, "We are fully prepared to continue acts of warefare so long as our demands remain unacknowledged."

"Of course, but…if I may ask, what do you mean by no casualties?" Hinata asked, looking confused.

"Sai was not, as initially thought, killed in the Hyuuga raid against us. However, both he and Neji are badly injured and Naruto will have recompense for them. My alpha is not prepared to compromise much, but neither he nor I have any intention of harming you or your sister unless you give us no other options." Sasuke whispered, his cold demeanor cracking for a moment.

"As always, the generosity of your family is appreciated." Hinata said, her voice raw for just a moment.

"As promised, I have relayed the statement of your ongoing friendship and loyalty to Naruto. He has no designs on your life so long as you are willing to accept our terms." Sasuke said, voice firm, but as kind as Kiba had ever heard it.

"I am grateful and ready to hear your terms." Hinata said, smiling just a little. Sasuke's eyes crinkled in the corners, a hidden smile, just a bit in reply.

"Firstly, Naruto requires that the use of the Hyuuga Curse mark be strictly forbidden and that the technique no longer be taught or employed in the Hyuuga clan. Those already burdened with the Mark should be equipped with a Locking Jutsu that allows them to kill anyone who activates the technique so that the Mark can be stopped. My alpha was very firm on this point. He wants the technique to die out." Sasuke said firmly.

"Done." Hinata replied, and Kiba heaved a sigh of relief.

He and Hinata had already talked at length about doing just as Sasuke suggested, finding a way to make the Curse Mark not only taboo, but also ineffective. A locking jutsu was not something Kiba had considered as a possibility to protect those still carrying the Mark, but it might actually work just as Sasuke said. A Lock was a kind of trap spell that almost 'stored' a pre-designed response to a particular action so that if one jutsu was activated, the object carrying the lock would always react the same way. In this case, the minute the Mark was activated, the victim would reflexively kill their wielder and the two energies would, hopefully, be neutralized. Of course, the Mark was designed to burn through nerve tissue until a command was issued to stop it, so even with the perpetrator dead the Mark may still kill, but the strategy was a good one. The whole idea was, actually, completely genius. Sasuke nodded to Hinata and continued.

"Secondly, Naruto requires that the first heir born of the Hyuuga household will be offered to our heiress as either a mate or subordinate through formal marriage ties. Given the patterns of your offspring, they will be subordinates." Sasuke said, glancing at Hinata's belly.

"Hey! Quit it!" Kiba snapped. Hinata held up a hand to silence him.

"I hesitate to decide the fate of my children before they are born…" Hinata whispered, biting her lip.

"As do we, matriarch, but Naruto agrees with my assessment that our two families must be joined to ensure peace. I suppose it will be up to Mikoto to accept the proposal when the time comes." Sasuke shrugged, sighing.

"Mikoto? Naruto already intends to pass Kyuubi to this child? I don't understand. Is he gravely injured?" Hinata asked almost too abruptly to be polite, her voice worried.

"No," Sasuke said, smiling openly for once, "My Alpha is whole, but our child was born a Jinchuuriki in her own right, with her own demon in accordance. It is a nine-tailed kitsune of lightning, the Inari."

"Oh." Hinata said, eyes wide.

"That's…exceedingly unusual." Granny said, raising a dubious eyebrow.

Sasuke grinned, looking proud, if exhausted. Kiba shivered. If the man were a dog, the look would be almost the same self-satisfied grin one would expect after taking down particularly large prey or eviscerating an enemy. He thought the expression a strange way to convey paternal affection, but Sasuke was a very strange person.

"How…How can such a thing occur?" Hinata asked, brows knit together.

"Those secrets will remain in my clan, but I assure you that I speak truthfully. Are you willing to meet this requirement?" Sasuke asked, no longer smiling, which was a little better actually.

"It is more than reasonable, daughter." Granny whispered. Hinata pressed her lips together unhappily.

"Sasuke, is this really necessary? Naruto of all people should realize that arranged marriages are a pain in the ass…" Kiba grumbled.

"Naruto may have been willing to concede the point, but I am not and in this he yields to my judgment. This is how these things are done." Sasuke hissed, crossing his arms.

"Very well, Sasuke. I will have the marriage contracts drawn up and signed. My children will be bound to your daughter upon their birth." She whispered, defeated. Sasuke nodded.

"Thirdly, House Hyuuga will now owe a blood debt to Uzumaki and will make themselves ready to answer our call to battle any time it is required in this and the next generation. If you will continue to exist, you will do so as our allies. This point is absolutely non-negotiable as it was suggested by Neji Hyuuga Uzumaki, third subordinate to Naruto and your own blood." Sasuke said.

"Of course, that is agreeable to us as well." Hinata said, bowing.

Sasuke hesitated with that last point, sipping his tea and glancing uncomfortably at Granny who remained as still and composed as a statue. Hanabi shuffled on her knees, looking worried and it was only through an effort of will Kiba managed to avoid doing the same. Sasuke was obviously uncomfortable with the next term in a way he hadn't been with the others and that was seriously not a good sign.

"The last of our terms," Sasuke breathed at last, "Was heavily debated in our household as well, but we see no other way to ensure the safety of our family. I hope, that this will not be viewed as an attack on the integrity of Lady Hinata. However, I have no choice, but to deliver the message as it was conveyed."

"Go ahead, pup." Granny said, her voice filled with sympathy. Sasuke nodded and steeled his posture.

"Neither Hinata Hyuuga nor Hanabi Hyuuga shall be permitted contact with Neji Uzumaki ever again in order to insure that his Curse Mark cannot be activated. The Mark is passed to all of us through the thrall and we cannot risk being incapacitated through it once again. The Main House members of Hyuuga must, then, never be within range of him." Sasuke whispered sadly.

"But, that means we'll never see him again!" Hanabi cried.

"Yes," Sasuke sighed, "It does."

"Sasuke, are you, yourself in agreement with this measure?" Hinata asked, a bit cruelly.

"I am." Sasuke said, closing his eyes.

"No! I…I can't! Don't accept that, Sissy! It'll be just the same as if Cousin died!" Hanabi snarled.

"These are our terms and further, Sai has been enthralled to kill any Hyuuga Main House member who moves into Neji's eyesight." Sasuke said, licking his lips, "An added assurance for your cooperation that I truly hope will never be used."

"That's unreasonable. You've as much as made the decision for us." Hinata said, eyes narrow.

"It is also necessary and if you want to be angry at someone, blame Hiashi. The Mark hurts all of us and we cannot allow that to happen again, especially considering Neji's current injuries! Why should we allow you to hurt him again?" Sasuke snapped, crossing his arms.

"Easy enough to blame Father now that he's dead! You're just scared!" Hanabi railed.

"We would never do that, Sasuke!" Hinata cried, shaking her head.

"I know, we all do, but this is not a matter of what you will and will not do, Hinata. This is about what you can do and you of all people should understand that distinction." Sasuke snarled, bunching his fists.

"Enough. Neji has made the choices he thinks most appropriate and he must live with them now, this isn't anything more than what he's already done to himself." Granny said, her voice cutting through the argument like a knife.

For a long moment, Kiba watched Sasuke and his wife stare at eachother, each of them weighing the possibility for peace against the indignity of trying to come to an agreement about something as emotionally charged as Neji's future. Even though he could never be accused of knowing Sasuke Uchiha well, Kiba got the distinct impression that this last measure had not been his idea, but one probably proposed by Naruto and that meant he had no room to maneuver. Honestly, if someone had fried the brain of someone he loved, Kiba might be disinclined to ever risk the same thing happening again too and of all the Uzumaki clan's demands, this one actually seemed the most reasonable to him.

"Hina, your personal feelings are secondary to the safety of our people." KIba whispered softly. Hinata turned her eyes to him, glaring for a moment before visibly deflating. Kiba nodded.

"Very well, I will agree on one condition. Uzumaki must at least allow us the option to see Neji again if a way can be found to reverse the Mark." Hinata said, her voice low, soft and very dangerous.

"Agreed. We are, then, willing to call an immediate end to combat." Sasuke said, slumping just a little in obvious relief.

"Yes, though the Hyuuga has a few demands of their own." Hinata said, sitting stiffly.

"I'm amused that you believe yourselves to be in a position to negotiate with us." Sasuke said, leaning back, one haughty eyebrow raised.

He was clearly irked that the negotiations weren't just over and done with yet, and Kiba had to try very hard not to roll his eyes. Peace talks rarely went as smoothly as this conversation had been and only Sasuke Uchiha would be prissy enough to expect satisfactory diplomacy in a matter of minutes, but his impatience was probably an advantage. Hinata would certainly be shrewd enough to recognize it as such, but balancing Sasuke's disinterest with Naruto's stubbornness would be hard.

"I seek not just for peace in this instant, Sasuke, but a lasting truce. In order to achieve a true alliance, I believe it is in both our best interests to prevent resentment from festering among those bereaved." Hinata said, matching his tone for force. Sasuke scowled.

"What is it then?" He grumbled.

"We would like to rebuild the Hyuuga compound in the same area of its original location and maintain a presence on the Konoha council of equal standing." Hinata said, sipping her tea as if the demands were common-place. Sasuke folded his hands into his sleeves and glared.

"Very well. Naruto has no interest in burnt-out wreckage or political maneuvering, though if you are found to be at the heart of intrigue against us again, we will not hesitate to annihilate the Hyuuga clan completely. I wish you luck maintaining your council presence, however, without any kind of military force." Sasuke said pithily.

"Allow that to be my concern and, as you know, I have no intention to move against Uzumaki in any field." Hinata replied.

"Anything else?" Sasuke asked, sounding fatigued.

"Yes, we would like permission to recover the bodies of our fallen loved ones from your Western woods. We have heard that Naruto has not allowed burial and, if you do not allow us access to your lands, at least ensure proper funeral rights. Many of those soldiers had no choice, but to be there." Hinata asked softly.

Kiba knew immediately that this was a point Sasuke had fervently hoped not to discuss. All vestiges of his previous regal impatience evaporated and the raven seemed to sink into himself, the weight of many hours and many lives written both in his posture and the long sigh he released into the air between them. The Uzumaki representation rubbed a hand over his eyes. Many minutes passed before Sasuke answered and when he did the words seemed to come with difficulty and his face colored in shame.

"I am so sorry, Hinata-sama, but this is one request my alpha will not be willing to grant." Sasuke whispered.

"But why? What gain is there in bones?" Hinata asked sadly, her composure finally cracking.

"Truthfully, I don't know. I'd hoped, with perhaps a bit more time, Naruto might be made to see reason on this issue. However, I was instructed that, if you should ask, our answer will unequivocally be no. The bodies will remain and they will remain openly, without burial or ritual. Naruto wants their bones to stand as a reminder to future invaders and he will not compromise." Sasuke said, bowing his head in apology.

"That," Granny muttered into her tea, "Sounds like the words of a man who is frightened and angry and not thinking clearly."

"It's deplorable." Kiba growled.

"Nevertheless, this is the cost of peace. I can only add that I will do what I can to change his mind, but Naruto does not reconsider his decisions lightly or often and I doubt he will be swayed." Sasuke said.

"Your efforts would be appreciated. It wounds me that our kinsmen will be treated so callously, but the rest of your terms are generous and I suppose even Naruto is entitled to some pettiness." Hinata whispered, her voice frigid.

"Please understand, Lady. For him it is not a matter to be approached logically or with rational arguments. Naruto believes that the only reason the Hyuuga incursion succeeded at all was his own inability to deliver compelling threats to the other Clans and he is unwilling to appear weak again. In order to compromise on matters of the living, he felt the need to withhold mercy from the dead." Sasuke explained voice chilly and filled with authority. Hinata looked mildly chastised.

"When you put the issue in that light, perhaps I am the one being petty." She sighed.

"Perhaps we all are." Hanabi said, bowing to Sasuke.

"Peace then?" The black-haired subordinate asked, offering his hand.

"Peace." Hinata agreed, squeezing his palm.

OoOoOoO

Tsunade relaxed into her chair, groaning as her tired muscles and sore joints complained. Days of tense vigil, one clan-war and the birth of a jinchuuriki fully-made, out of thin air apparently, was enough to tax anybody. Tsunade reluctantly had to admit that she wasn't as young as she used to be. Wearily, she pulled a bottle of her nicer sake from a nearby drawer and glanced up at the portrait of herself, Jiraiya and Orochimaru hanging from the wall. The picture had been taken in their youth before…well, before many things, and even though the Hokage knew the silly thing was a foolish indulgence and a piece of ridiculous nostalgia besides, she kept it anyway. She liked the way they all looked so happy in it, so comfortable with one another.

"Ah boys, you always did manage to get around the real work didn't you?" Tsunade sighed, gazing up at them as she poured herself a drink.

The Hokage swallowed the liquor in a single gulp and poured herself another, offering this one to the smiling faces above her before downing the second glass of silky poison as well. Kami, Grass Country really did know how to make good booze, she thought and poured a third. She was self-aware enough to recognize that she probably drank too much and even TonTon had taken to rooting up and smashing her sake bottles and glasses when the little rascal got the chance, but Tsunade was old and her self-harm was her own fucking prerogative. She drank the third glass, feeling a bit warmer and less sore already, not quite drunk enough even to be tipsy yet. Having a high alcohol tolerance was a pain in the ass. Hardly anyone knew, but Orochimaru had had the constitution of a pixie, drunk in an instant before Jiraiya got loud or Tsunade even started feeling it.

Ah, she missed them tonight. Seeing Naruto and his little band of bandaged misfits brought back feelings better left buried and yet too sweet to completely ignore. They represented something, the Jinchuuriki and his pack of darksome killers, something Tsunade had always privately known might be possible and yet never allowed herself to hope for. Dealing with Orochimaru and then Jiraiya's death was easier that way, easier when she could tell herself that there was nothing to be done, that they had been set upon a course with the destination already decided. She sighed. No one blamed Tsunade for the way things fell apart, no one expected her to find peace or balance between two men of such diametrically opposed personalities, and yet she still thought about it. Watching Naruto made her wonder if things could have been different, if she might have been able to rescue Orochimaru the way they'd rescued Sasuke, if they might have been able to find a measure of contentment. No one else would have believed that the other Sannin might be capable of the domestic harmony in Naruto's household, but no one knew them like she did, like she had.

Niggling doubts about dead lovers were uncomfortable, and the Hokage was more than willing to retreat back to her den of political intrigue and expensive alcohol as soon as Konoha's best trauma surgeon and her harem were stable and reasonably certain to survive the night. With the Hyuuga clan bound in a truce and under the leadership of Hinata, Tsunade was fairly certain most of the external threats had passed. The children were safe and now what they needed most was some time and space to rest, recuperate and try to heal. She smiled. Lots of new parents struggled, but a baby coming at the close of a grueling battle and in the middle of sticky diplomatic negotiations had to be doubly difficult.

Sasuke had come home just before dark, looking both dignified and fearsome in a way she was certain helped in the peace negotiations, but the façade didn't last. He was tired, more than she'd ever seen him, and running on caffeine and willpower only worked for so long. At the time, she'd been holding Mikoto, giving Sakura and the others a few hours of much needed rest and making sure the baby didn't fuss. Sakura was more than exhausted, Neji injured and Naruto was suffering with the worst case of chakra depletion Tsunade had seen since Madara's attack, puking up everything except soldier pills in between bouts of complete unconsciousness. Sai, of course, was too hysterical to speak in entire sentences even though he really did try, so she was the only one left with any reserve to care for the child while Sasuke tried to end their war. Sasuke was exhausted too; physically, mentally and spiritually taxed from both the battle and from whatever happened to enthralled subordinates during a birth, but he was whole and even mostly sane for once. Tsunade laughed. Sasuke was sane enough at any rate, and the obvious choice to go tie up loose ends.

So Naruto's raven haired menace hauled himself out of bed after a meager ten hours of sleep, dressed and went to the Inuzuka compound as soon as the family had managed to discuss what demands they would make for peace. Clan Uzumaki was on its last ounce of muscle and stamina, but the Hyuugas didn't know that, and Naruto even managed to hold his guts down long enough to make perfectly clear that he did not intend to waste any opportunity for leverage they might have. Truce needed to happen now, before the Hyuuga clan remnants started coming to too many conclusions on their own, a decision Tsunade thought rather shockingly well-reasoned for Naruto. The family argued about the terms, even mustering enough energy to shout about certain points. Tsunade wasn't sure what the results would be, given that some of the demands were very generous and others purely ridiculous, but she had enough temperance to know that her input into the discussion was not warranted. All this mess, the details of who could do what and when, was clan business and even if she was their friend and mentor, the Sannin was also Hokage.

She abdicated the role of political advisor for that of a doting grandparent, holding, cuddling and rocking the baby while Naruto snarled about making examples of corpses and Sasuke stubbornly argued with Sakura about the merits of arranged marriage. Neji wanted abolishment of the Curse Mark, which normally wouldn't have been anything they had the right to ask for, but Naruto agreed instantaneously. The only thing Sai wanted, of course, was permission to kill anyone and anything that so much as thought of threatening the others again. She couldn't help, but shake her head. Tsunade wasn't used to simply hanging back, watching decisions be made without her input, listening to pipsqueak clanheads create contracts that would affect her kingdom for generations without uttering a word. Mikoto was an easy baby though, happy and cooing with delight or asleep, crying only when she was hungry or a bit too tired. She was the kind of baby that made the old ninja queen a little bit sorry she'd never managed to have children of her own. Once the clan managed to distill their various concerns and opinions down into mostly reasonable terms, the lot of them fell asleep on top eachother.

The others were still asleep by the time Sasuke returned home. She could hear the fatigue in the subordinate's tread, but it wasn't until he stood before her that the Hokage truly realized how completely overburdened the little pack was. Sasuke had stared at her for a moment, looking dazed, and just as Tsunade was about to make a snide comment about finding the floor before it found him, the young man had laid down, pillowed his head against his arm and fell asleep without a word. She blinked. Sasuke was completely asleep, still dressed in his clan finery and without even the comfort of a mattress against the chilly tatami. In sleep, sleeping Sasuke was much less aggravating than when he was awake and she'd been moved, rising to fetch him a blanket before quietly moving into another room.

Holding a gently snoozing baby in a house full of people who were either incapacitated or unconscious gave her a lot of time to think, too much really, and she was never a person who did well with her own thoughts. Naruto woke once or twice to vomit, choke down a soldier pill and fall asleep again, but otherwise the household seemed caught in time like a drop of frozen dew. The quiet was peaceful, comfortable and so warm that Tsunade might have even dosed a bit herself, if not for the memories stirred by watching Sakura fast asleep in a pile of cozy, exhausted, snoring teammates. True, Neji had never really been part of team 7, but he still seemed to match somehow. She smiled at the memory. Despite the rather exotic contentment of the Uchiha mansion, Tsunade was more than happy to pass Mikoto to Kakashi when the teacher finally arrived after teaching his class to relieve her.

"Pretty baby, glad my goddaughter didn't inherit anything too unsightly." The copy-cat nin whispered, eyes crinkled in private mirth as Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"The fact that she comes with a new demon is novel enough." The Hokage had huffed, crossing her arms.

"Oh, well, it isn't an unsightly demon…hmmm, yes, cute…" Kakashi chuckled, pulling the wrap down from his Sharingan eye for a look.

"Your priorities are really interesting." Tsunade grumbled.

"Not particularly." He replied, sitting on the floor where he was with the child after shooting another amused glance at Sasuke.

Mikoto roused and chortled a little, more than happy to drink a bit of breast-milk from one of the bottle Sakura had prepared, before falling back asleep. Tsunade stayed close just long enough to make sure that Kakashi, a lifelong bachelor, would be able to figure out little things like how to feed a baby without having her choke to death and change a diaper. Mikoto ate more and more frequently than a newborn her age really ought to, probably because of the extra chakra demands of Inari, and she worried a little. Shockingly, the copy-cat nin was more adept at feeding, cleaning and settling an infant than she was and that rankled just a little. After a rather pointed sigh and a look that would have probably been a glare on anyone else other than Kakashi, the Hokage took the hint.

"Alright, alright I'm leaving!" She grumbled.

"Ne, Tsunade? Do you ever wonder?" Kakashi asked lazily, stretching out on the tatami like the cat of his namesake, baby cradled easily in his right arm.

"Hmmm? Wonder what, you old cryptic?" She asked testily.

"Do you ever wonder what might have happened if things had been different? After all, you're like me…the one left behind." He whispered, dabbing covertly at a spot of moisture dripping from his replaced Sharingan eye.

"I really have no idea what you're talking about." Tsunade huffed.

"Sure you do," He smirked, "Yours just got lost later. For me, I lost my team when I was still a child. I lost my woman and my man before I was even old enough to know what that meant, what I would never have without them…"

"It's unlike you to be maudlin and, if you recall, my teammates lived longer than most of our kind…Long enough to wish they hadn't, certainly." Tsunade argued, looking away.

"Hmm, true." Kakashi acceded with a nod, "But I never really believed anything else would happen. Naruto, of course, always achieves the impossible…"

The Hokage sighed, sinking more deeply into her chair. How very like Kakashi, she thought, to put her own dismal, amorphous thoughts into words. Regardless of the regrets, she was happy too; happy that something silly like love really was strong enough to save a team, to save five people with such different problems from the darkness that had swallowed up everything else in her life. Just knowing that the world could be that way was enough, enough to give her sufficient hope to keep going for a few more tired years. Glancing up at the old photograph, she smiled, thinking about her own teammates as she hadn't in years and imagining what it would have felt like to sit with the on a night like this, one man on each side. They would have laughed, touched, and chased the chill away with body heat instead of booze, maybe talking, maybe not. She'd never found holding off on the liquor to be difficult in their company, a bottle stretched thinner among three and better for being shared. Ah well, she drank enough for all of them by herself now. Tsunade poured herself a fourth glass of sake, the burn of the alcohol just dimming her control enough so that the Hokage could allow her mind to drift, to dream about love and about peace.

…..Fin


	26. Epliogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which those broken make each-other whole.

Everything was okay. Sai knew that everything was okay. Everyone had actually managed to survive and, for the first time since he came into the pack, his mates seemed to enjoy a sense of security and solace that pervaded everything. Sakura was fully healed within a week and back to training with a vengeance, pushing her body the way she hadn't been able to while pregnant and enjoying every winded lap and sore muscle more than Sai thought anyone really should. Sasuke was so hopelessly charmed by their baby, Mikoto, that he was content to spend hours simply holding her tucked into his kimono on misty mornings, warm against the skin of his chest, without anything else to do than drink a pot of white tea. Sai sat with him many mornings, often with his head pillowed against the other man's thigh, and he knew that there was nothing amiss for once, nothing to worry about. Everything was okay. The problem, which had become apparent to him, as well as to everyone else, was that he, himselfwas not okay. He was far from anything like the happy contentment which seemed to fill every other space, far from recovered or healed, and as the weeks crawled on, the ink nin began to wonder if he ever really would be.

Naruto said that he shouldn't worry, and that no one minded when he cried so much, and that sometimes things like grief and anger took longer to heal than flesh injuries, which really was fine after all. Sakura said that a lifetime of hurt just wasn't going to go away anytime soon and that Sai shouldn't be impatient with himself, that he could take as much time as he needed, no one was going to go anywhere. Sai knew they were right and the words did help, a little, but he was tired of feeling so heavy, so tired and so empty all the time. The artist ate, because everyone else was eating and because if he refused then that landed him in the same camp with Neji, which was unappealing enough for decent motivation, but the food was tasteless. He bit and chewed and swallowed and he could have been eating anything, he couldn't even really tell. He drank, but only because Sakura fussed if his cup stayed full and he pretended to sleep because otherwise Naruto would worry, but everything just felt wrong.

Even sex felt like nothing more than a reflex, like coughing or vomiting, only a few sparks of warmth penetrating the chilly fog in his mind. Moving was hard and training even harder and sometimes Sai wondered if he would just sit too still one day and turn to stone, if doing so would be a bad thing. Naruto told him to pretend, to try until the actions felt natural again, that sooner or later his mind would be released from the awful weight of so many feelings and so many memories. Sai listened to him and he believed him too, Naruto was not the kind of person who lied, but the raging pain of feeling so much and remembering things his body couldn't understand was getting harder by the day.

Sasuke never complained about the fact that Sai got his lap all wet with tears, and Naruto held him, kissed him, and loved him as though nothing about his new appearance was anything except sublime, stroking the fur of his tail as if the appendage had always been there. No one treated him differently or ignored him, but Sai knew that they wondered too, wondered if he would ever be alright. When he looked in the mirror, the artist barely recognized his own face, the tracks of blue on his skin an ever-present representation of endless mourning, his eyes alight with azure made even brighter by the redness and endless weeping. He tried to paint, but the only thing the ink seemed inclined to do was run in circles, smear and clot like blood or flow into the likeness of his mother's human face. He sighed. Sakura said that the mind followed the body and that he would feel better with more exercise, but Sai wasn't sure. His body was unhurt and that made Sai want to argue, but then he felt shivery and sick about making them worry, especially because there was someone who was legitimately hurt and they were worried enough already.

Neji wasn't healing, despite the fact that Tsunade said he should, said that the brain really could heal with the right therapy and that someone young and strong like the Hyuuga would be able to recover completely with enough stimulation. Sai thought the Hokage was probably right, especially because Neji's eyesight returned after a few days of rest, but his body stubbornly refused to move. Neji dragged himself up every day to do physical therapy, working until he collapsed with exhaustion, but the exercise didn't seem to work. His right hand stayed limp and crumpled and his right leg was still too weak for him to walk with. Even worse, Neji's appetite slowly disappeared and getting him to eat even a few mouthfuls of food was a challenge. Always slender, the Hyuuga was getting frighteningly thin and Naruto spent almost every free moment either pushing him to eat or pressing scared little kisses against his ruined hand. Sai watched him sometimes, watched Naruto make love to Neji and tell him with the thrall to heal, please heal, but even the all-powerful compulsion wasn't enough to fix him. The worst part was listening to Neji scream when Naruto enthralled him, listening to him wail like someone was pulling his wings off, voice raw with disuse and filled with pain. Sasuke always covered Mikoto's ears when Naruto did that to Neji, and Sakura always conveniently left for a run, but Sai listened, listened to the pain and thought he understood what Kakashi meant when the sensei said some things couldn't be forced.

Something was keeping Neji from healing, something more than just a brain injury, because the brain really could heal and Neji was clearly trying. Sai knew everyone was getting desperate for answers as much as for a solution, but Tsunade could only shrug and say that even without the thrall, the Hyuuga should be improving. Sai felt bad that neither of them was getting better and the more he thought about his state of mind and the state of Neji's body, the more the nagging frustration grew. Sai wasn't injured. He wasn't ill. He wasn't pale with exhaustion like Naruto or alight with repressed tension like Sakura and there was no excuse for wandering around the house like a misplaced shadow, while the rest of the family tried to move forward. Sai was just...broken somehow, maybe he always had been...maybe he and Neji weren't so different after all.

Sai thought about the Hyuuga, his mind spinning in circles and one day, during one of the rare moments when he got to hold Mikoto by himself, the hanyou came to a decision. The little baby was snug in his arms, holding his tail in one of her chubby fists tentatively, as if getting a good grip on it took a lot of work, eyes crossed with concentration. She was cute and warm and unafraid of him, even though he had once tried to kill her, and Sai couldn't even stop crying long enough to love her. He sighed. The tears came at odd moments.

"I'm tired of this." He told the wriggling creature, watching as she stuffed the end of his tail into her mouth and promptly gagged on it.

He flicked the furry appendage out of her mouth, waiting for angry wailing and surprised when the baby coughed a bit and reached for it again. Sakura did say some people never learn. The baby's big, blue eyes fixed onto his face and stared, just the way Naruto did sometimes, and the artist felt like she was looking at his soul instead of just his eyes. The feeling built, condensed in his chest like cold lead, and his vision blurred with a fresh surge of tears. Sai held her tighter, snuggling her up closer in his kimono just in case she was cold, picking through a little tangle in her curls with one narrow, blue claw. She would be hungry soon he knew, she usually was, but for now the child seemed content to merely watch him weep and try to eat Sai's tail. He really shouldn't be sobbing, wracked with an emotion that might be frustration, but was probably closer to anguish, not now when he had a moment with the baby. He didn't want it, but the reaction wouldn't stay buried.

"I'm still at war," The artist whispered, "I'm fighting myself, maybe."

Mikoto mewled and yawned, falling asleep between one breath and another as if his logic pleased her well enough and anything else was superfluous, not worth her attention. Sai dried his cheeks against his sleeve for the thousandth time and wiped his tears from Mikoto's face as well so that Sasuke wouldn't get that look on his face when he came to feed her after his sparring session. Sasuke never said anything, but there were moments when the other subordinate looked at him and his expression was the same as someone who'd accidentally swallowed broken glass. Sai tried not to weep in front of him directly if he could help it, but of course, Sasuke knew anyway.

"Enough of this." Sai told the sleeping baby quietly, "I've had enough."

OoOoOoO

Neji slept lightly, but he slept often, exhausted from the grueling exercise of his therapy and more than willing to escape into sleep any time he could. In sleep, he was better, whole, complete and able to walk through the gardens with Sasuke or train with Sakura or be the one to pick Sai up from the porch when the artist forgot to move and got too cold. In sleep, he was the man Naruto had fallen in love with, the one the jinchuuriki said he idolized. Maybe that person was dead, but no matter how many times the blond told him he was perfect, Neji could never quite believe the words. The dissonance of his inner landscape with reality rankled more every day and Neji felt trapped, as trapped as any skulking vermin, his paw chained and useless. The Hyuuga smiled bitterly. Maybe the best thing to do was gnaw the damn thing off. He deserved to suffer. He had no right to want anything more. To live was enough, to live was the only thing he'd been able to promise anyway, and even that was more difficult by the day so he couldn't just stop fighting.

The needs of his body just seemed to fall away and Neji wasn't really hungry or cold anymore, despite what everyone wanted, despite the fact that Naruto always looked like he was chewing on razor blades any time he declined food. Naruto just couldn't accept his disability, mostly because he blamed himself for it, Neji thought, but the real agony came from the fact that he couldn't really accept his own condition either. He deserved this, this waking hell, but it was too hard to lie down and die when everyone he loved was only a breath and a few footsteps away, his to touch or laugh with, his to live with if only he could just move! When he was with Naruto, rocking in the throes of passion, the key to his recovery felt so close, almost there, his hand very nearly his own if he could only just reach beyond the invisible barrier. He could feel the barrier in the thrall too, feel the sparking pain as his body tried, tried to cleave to the compulsion in his alpha's voice, tried to heal. Something was in the way and maybe that was merely karma. Maybe everything was as it should be.

Neji closed his eyes, grinding his teeth in frustration, turning against the heavy silk of his pillow to watch the snow fall outside, the flakes occasionally drifting through the open sliding doors. Spring was coming and the snowflakes were like gorged bumblebees: fat, heavy with moisture, very nearly sleet and certainly too wet to accumulate more than a few inches. The grass would be sprouting soon and flowers too. Despite the noticeably warmer days, the snowflakes just kept stubbornly falling from the dark, heavy clouds only to melt in the air as chilly mist. Winter was over, but the snow didn't seem to realize that it's time had passed. He shuddered and caught the sound of footsteps in the hall.

His eyes were recovered and his vision sound, but Neji relied more and more on the Byukugan since the technique no longer taxed him and he knew immediately that the person approaching was male, but not Naruto or Sasuke. His eyes widened. Sai only approached his rooms when the hanyou came to spy on Naruto fucking him, watching him moan with pleasure and then scream with pain for reasons that the artist never shared with anyone. Groaning, Neji levered himself up into a sitting position on his futon and tried to pull his hair back with one hand, which never really worked. He'd managed something like an ugly imitation of a braid by the time Sai walked through the door.

"Hi." Neji muttered, feeling nervous.

"Hi," Sai replied, breath hitching with another bout of tears.

The artist folded himself into a seated position at the edge of the bed, long, silky tail lashing with some unspoken nervousness at his side. Neji pressed his lips together, awkwardly pouring another cup of tea to accompany the one already sitting cold at his side, offering the beverage to Sai in what he hoped was a gesture of welcome. He and the artist had never quite managed to get along, but they loved the same people so being nice was well worth a try. The artist took the proffered cup and his hand only shook a little. For a moment they each took a sip and watched the snow fall. Sai cried silently, dabbing his face with his sleeves.

"It's still snowing." Neji said by way of conversation.

"Do you ever think that maybe you don't heal because you don't want to?" The artist asked, pinning him with his eyes. Neji blinked.

"Are you always so random?" He asked with a dry chuckle.

"It's not random. That's what I came to talk about. Does your body want to fight because you don't really want to heal?" Sai asked again, biting his lip.

"Um, I'm pretty sure I do want to." Neji replied after a moment, trying not to sound testy.

"I do too, but I don't. I think that, inside, something is fighting something else." Sai murmured, tracing the edge of his tea-cup with a single, blue claw.

Neji swallowed. He wasn't entirely sure what prompted the conversation, or even what exactly Sai was trying to convey, but he couldn't deny the fact that yes, yes, he knew exactly what the war within felt like. He felt the struggle every time his hand failed to obey his mind, every time Naruto kissed him as he entered Neji's body in a vain attempt warm the ice in his belly and every time the jinchuuriki told his foolish, foolish body to heal. Indeed, something was fighting something else inside him too.

"I do feel that way. The way you described. I'm at war inside." Neji acceded, the words coming soft and with too much effort, but honesty usually felt that way.

"Aren't you tired of it?" Sai whispered, eyes red with weeping, leaning closer.

"Yes," Neji confessed softly, closing his eyes, "I'm exhausted. I'm losing."

Even with his eyes closed, Neji could feel the artist lean closer, feel the weight of the other man's hand against his thigh as Sai joined him on the bed. Taking a breath, Neji set his teacup down and heard the soft clink of porcelain against wood as the hanyou did the same. Sai smelled like ink and paper, like certain rooms of the library or his Uncle's document cabinet, but the musty odor was one Neji found that he liked and the warmth of his breath felt good against his cheek.. Boldly, the Hyuuga nuzzled his nose against Sai's hair as the hanyou moved closer still, sitting against his body in an unspoken gesture of comradery.

"Have you had enough?" Sai asked, lips close enough to his own that Neji could almost feel the words.

"Yes." He replied and it was almost a sob.

Sai kissed him then and Neji really should have expected him to, but he still pulled back too fast and with a startled yelp, eyes flying open, licking his lips nervously. Sai never flinched. Neji shook his head. One moment the Hyuuga was drifting away, shutting the world out, and the next he was gazing into the slate black of Sai's pupils with the ring of blue in the artist's irises pulling his attention like the edge of a whirlpool. Sai's eyes were strange, pretty, but strange, and much too still, like Naruto's. He swallowed again, mouth dry.

"I have to forgive. I have to forgive my mother for making me and Danzo for hurting me and myself for loving them anyway." Sai said and kissed him again.

Neji met his mouth this time, lips quivering against the exotic softness, leaning into the touch despite his reservations. He shivered, opened his mouth obediently at the unspoken demand in the hanyou's hands and lips and body as Sai nibbled at his jaw. Sai's fingers were cool against his cheek, cupping his face tenderly. The words seemed to rattle inside his mind, making entirely too much sense, uncomfortable, but not enough to flee from. They moved against each other, Neji's mouth tingling from the gentle, almost succulent way Sai caressed him. The artist's teeth were sharp and small, clinking against his own, the barest hint of danger against his tongue.

"How can you?" Nreji groaned into Sai's mouth, "How can you ever forgive?"

"I must. I think, maybe, that I'll never get better until I let the weight go. I've had enough of the pain, so I have to forgive them…and myself too…for making my mother die." Sai whispered.

"I don't deserve forgiveness," Neji whimpered, tears gathering in his eyes.

"It doesn't matter." Sai replied, capturing his tongue.

They kissed, the warm slickness of Sai's mouth invading his own, coaxing, challenging too, demanding surrender. Neji moaned and brought his good hand up to hold the ink nin's tear-wet face, letting Sai take his weight, trusting that the hanyou would keep him from falling and even something so small felt like blessed relief. Moving just a bit, Sai straddled his lap in a single step, pinning Neji securely beneath his weight and undulating erotically against his hips. His breath caught at the feeling of the firm ridge of Sai's erection beneath the silk. The artist's hands were around his shoulders, dipping into his kimono, pulling the heavy cloth away.

"I don't understand." Neji said, as Sai laid him back, stretching out against his chest.

"What you deserve doesn't matter. The only thing that makes any difference is if you've had enough." Sai said, "If you're ready to give it up."

"Kami, I am…" Neji whispered desperately, winding his left hand into Sai's hair to pull him closer.

They moved with an unspoken urgency, pulling the clothing away almost frantically, holding one another close and quivering. The motion of it was so easy; easier than Neji had ever imagined, almost magnetically simple to find Sai's naked skin and just touch. He was tired of thinking, of feeling, of suffering and the artist was too. They writhed, thrusting, bucking, hips pressed together through the silk of their kimonos gathered in mussed folds around their jerking hips. Neji felt the sudden chill of the air against his body and then he was flush against the burning satin of Sai's penis, the sensation strange, different from the others. He gasped, rubbing, and the friction of their skin together was dry, chaste even, like a greeting kiss. Neji moaned, belly tightening as the first hint of warm moisture dripped slick between them. Kami, it felt so good.

Sai wound a hand into his hair, pulling his head back as they began to grind and Neji allowed it, allowed him to move them both. The ink nin wrapped a ready palm around their straining erections, his grip firm, but not too tight. Neji could feel his legs opening of their own accord to allow Sai a better angle and the artist adjusted to crouch between his thighs, dragging slickened fingers against his chest with a moan. The little horns on Sai's head brushed roughly against his brow, but Neji only pulled him down into a deeper kiss. They moved, finding a rhythm at last, and, for the first time since he was injured, Neji wasn't focused on the images of death in his own mind or the commanding pull of Naruto's hands against his body. Sai moved with him, their weight pulling together and the lovemaking was, for once, an end instead of a means.

"Peace in your body," Sai whispered against his throat, "Peace in my mind. Then we can be healed."

Neji moaned and let go, let the guilt fall away and the pain with it, let himself simply feel. When the first tentative touch against his opening came, a warm pressure barely slick enough to be pleasurable, the silver-eyed genius could only sigh and press back against Sai's inexperienced hand. He was willing. Willing to try.

"Peace…" He echoed, "Peace in my body."

"Peace." Sai agreed, kissing the tears off of his cheeks.

The ink nin paused, dipping his fingers into the jar of massage oil Sakura had left a few days ago and pressed in, not hesitating, letting Neji move against him as his own pace. The penetration was deep and more sudden than he was used to and Sai's single finger felt so big inside of him. There was pleasure and also the aching stretch of intimate muscles pushing apart, making room, making way and then another finger too. Neji groaned, panting, feeling Sai's knuckles press tight against him as he thrust in. The artist opened the narrow passage, fingers slick against Neji's trembling flesh, filling him, finding his prostate and massaging mercilessly. Light danced before his eyes and there was fire in his nerves, the urge to move, to move. Neji bit his lip, crying out against his own teeth, hands fisting in the bedding. He was full, hard, belly shaking with the profound, erotic heaviness of Sai in his body. Neji rocked back, rolling to give the artist more room, taking him further in as he sobbed shamelessly against the pillows and the silken waves of his own chilly hair. The sex felt like falling, like surrender, release like an armistice flowing through his body. He was ready. He'd had enough.

OoOoOoO

Naruto finished sparring with Sasuke, the burn in his muscles barely enough to dull the gnawing worry, but physical exhaustion would just have to do until he found a way to wear his mind out too. He was always worried these days, about Neji and about Sai, so much so that the anxiety almost felt commonplace. He showered quickly, hoping to go play with Mikoto before the baby fell asleep for the night, only spending a few extra moments to kiss Sasuke under the hot spray. He was walking back toward the bedroom, bare feet slowly getting uncomfortably cold against the chilly wood of the floor when he felt it, the shift, the flood of warmth and…and release. The jinchuuriki stopped midstride, gasping as the surge of relief rocked him through the thrall. Neji, Neji and Sai, they were…

He changed direction, moving toward the Hyuuga's quarters as if drawn by a magnet, heart pounding, the fluttering heat almost ticklish in his belly. When he opened the sliding door to Neji's room, Naruto had no idea what he would find, but the scene inside wasn't anything he could have foreseen. The jinchuuriki's eyes widened and for a moment all he could do was stare as his legs buckled, body sinking slowly to rest on his knees. Even after watching his daughter's eyes fill with delight and gazing upon Sakura's generous curves draped in sheer netting, even after watching Sasuke's pale face smile guilelessly in the moonlight, Naruto knew he wasn't ready. He wasn't ready for that kind of beauty and all he could do was lean against the door frame and stare, open-mouthed, like an idiot.

Neji was on his knees, feet flexing, holding his own weight easily as Sai thrust into him, a hungry smile on the artist's moist lips. Naruto could see the change in the way they moved, in the elegant grace of their hips and the quivering tension in their shapely thighs. The warm almond-cream skin of Neji's arms, both his arms, was firm as the Hyuuga moved, reaching back, his fingers spread against the paper-pale flesh of Sai's thrusting hips. Sai's hand was tight in the other man's hair, his elegant tail wrapped firmly around Neji's throat like a black velvet collar, both dominant and affectionate too.

Sai wasn't weeping and Naruto didn't feel the gnashing pain radiating off him anymore either. If anything, there was a lightness within the connection, a profound soothing. Neji moaned, the sound rough and a little broken at the end, belly rippling, moving his previously paralyzed right hand to Sai's wrist. The Hyuuga flexed his fingers, gripping Sai's hand where it was wrapped around his shaft, encouraging the artist to stroke. With a cry, Sai pressed himself tight to Neji's back, burying his nose in the other nin's neck, body quivering with completion. A few more stuttering thrusts and Neji ejaculated as well, sinking back against the hanyou like he knew he'd be caught, like he trusted Sai enough for the action to be reflex. With another little grunt of passion, bodies still connected, his subordinates kissed and Naruto felt as though he could feel the love in the gesture like a caress against his own skin. They sighed and the feeling was the same as seeing the lights of a rescue party after too many weeks lying injured in the field, the sense of salvation almost enough to make him weep. They were okay, thank Kami, they were going to be okay. Naruto sighed, smiling helplessly as he watched them, watched them heal each other.


End file.
